Beyond Hope
by Bluewolfgirl
Summary: Naraku has the full Shikon Jewel and all seems lost... But Kagome has a plan.
1. Chapter 1

HEY!!!!

That get your attention? I hope so... ahem Anyway, welcome to the 'new' Naraku's Transformation. I'm redoing every chapter before I do the Epilogue. And just replacing the chapters instead of making an entirely new story.

For now, this is the title. Don't ask. It just came to mind. It's certainly better than Naraku's Transformation. If you noticed the giant, gaping, bold-ed letters that SHOULD have attracted your attention, then this is answering the questions found in my reviews for Chapter 19. Er...if this is your first time reading this, ignore the review answers. They'll just be confusing.

**Yasha'z Wifey Kyome**: Of course! What kind of person would I be if I left them all to die? ... heh. And...no. His entire aim from the beginning was simply to confuse her enough to swipe the counter-spell from her. Or maybe the book that gave her the spell. He _might _have had some feelings, but not enough to distract him from his original goal.

**blackXheart**: Well, you now have the ability to re-ride it! My paragraph long first chapter will soon become longer... and I'll continue from there.

**Saccharine Death**: Depressing...really? I'm glad you think I'm articulate though! I have a problem with choosing which words to use...doesn't help that I'm lacking any type of spell check. Anyway. Onto your questions!

Yes. Thus the "Are you trying to recreate History?" line from Kagome. Whether he was trying to make it easier or harder for her, depends. I'm fairly sure he just wanted to make her do a double-take.

Kagura came from nowhere. She was only an illusion set up by Kanna, to distract Kagome. I really, _really_ wanted to include Kagura, but there was no time. So I couldn't do justice to her.

Kikyou, in the first part, was fighting Kanna. When she lost, due to the fact that Kanna's awesome like that and a bit more motivated coughfatherfigurecough, she attempted to follow Kanna into the cave, but only managed to reach the entrance.

Darn...I wanted more questions...These are fun to answer!!

**Igor Lollipop**: W-well...there's at least a little while until the final chapter. And until then there are a few new things hidden in the updated chapters...

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Inuyasha. If I did, would I be writing this?

XxX

They were beyond hope. The final shards of the Shikon no Tama had fallen into Naraku's hands, completing the jewel. There was no more Onigumo, no trace of his existance any longer within a full demon Naraku, so they only assume he was wished away. The jewel itself remained, black as night, its power at Naraku's disposal. And yet...they survived.

Well, none of his 'children' were still alive. Kagura and Kanna had perished eventually, from the combined efforts of them all. Or rather, they liked to think that. In truth, it was probably because Naraku had no need of them anymore. And of course, Inuyasha and the rest of their group had destroyed the others soon after they were 'born'.

But she, Kagome Higurashi, had a plan.

A daring, suicidal plan that would stretch the boundaries of reality and time and space! ...Okay, maybe not. But she was still risking her neck. And if it actually, somehow, some way, worked, then Naraku wouldn't be able to hurt another human.

True, he could kill all the demons that he wanted, but most of them would be safe. Especially Kohaku. They'd dragged his near lifeless corpse from the clutches of the spider and, with some pleading on Sango's part, and a bit of persistant begging on Rin's, they managed to convince Sesshoumaru to revive him.

Brushing away her inner thoughts, Kagome began her journey to Inuyasha's Forest to collect the final ingredient for her little spell. Nimbly avoiding the bustling villagers around her, she smiled and waved at the villagers, most of whom returned her greeting. She paused when a batch of children clustered around her from nowhere, one of whom was hopping a bit, she noticed.

The hopping one tugged lightly on her pants, his other hand attempting to keep cloth and dirt away from what looked like a skinned knee.

"Priestess Kagome! Priestess Kagome! Do you have any of those magic bits of sticky paper on you?"

"They're bandaids, remember? And, I just happen to have my very last one!"

With a grin she produced the item the inside of one the bell sleeves the preistess outfits were known for, unwrapped it, and placed it over the boys knee carefully.

"Thank you Preistess Kagome!"

She waved him off with the almost obligatory warning to be more careful, barely blinking at the now familiar 'Preistess' added on to her name. It wasn't as though the change from school uniform to preistess outfit was permanent. It was simply, between the demonic attacks recently most of her clothing had become impossible to wear. At least, not without drawing some very unwanted attention.

It was simply back-up clothing, a variation of the norm so that she didn't feel like Kikyou's clone. And so she didn't get a double take every time Inuyasha saw her.

A flash of color caught her eye as she crossed the fringe of trees into the forest proper, a smile crossing her face.

_Speak of the devil..._

Humming softly to herself and letting Inuyasha continue to watch over her, she continued to gather the remnants of her spell. It was the little things like this that she would protect, keeping them untainted and away from Naraku.

She wasn't as good as Kikyou, as powerful as Sango or Inuyasha. Her own powers were weak, only a fraction of her predecessors, and this spell, or rather, this curse, might turn her fragile soul into a tainted mess like Tsubaki's. Whether it worked or not. But she had to try. It was the least she could do for her friends.

XxX

Dang... I couldn't help the shortness of it... there's only so much useless randomness you can tack on... Heh.


	2. A Plan Set In Motion

**Disclaimer**: Yeah, yeah. You know the drill.

XxX

Tonight was the night. The night that the spell would be cast.

Kagome took a deep breath, dark eyes looking around cautiously for any one who may be around. The forest was silent, the only light being the moon above her, every so often concealed by the clouds drifting aimlessly.

Sutra's for protection that she had...borrowed...from Miroku were plastered to the the trees around her as an extra precaution. A touch of energy and the barrier slid over and around her, enough to keep away whatever might be wandering around a forest late at night.

Brushing her hair out of her face and resting her hands over a the small clay bowl she had chosen, she eyed suspiciosly the strange, green mixture inside. She was almost positive there was black, like ink, streaking through there. A black that had been mysteriously absent before...

Shaking off her suspicions on how much she should trust a cursed liquid she closed her eyes, letting her power drift from her fingers into the liquid, struggling to keep from purifying it like she was so used to doing. Satisfied that there was enough of her energy mixed with the spell so that the Shikon would attract it, hopefully. And not repel it like it was known to do with so many other things.

The Shikon no Tama was eaten by a good many things throughout its existance. And burned. Not much seemed to be able to get through that deceptively thin looking shell of the jewel. She was preying on the hope that a good couple of years of having the Shikon inside her body had made it attuned to her energy.

Muttering softly to herself she took the bowl in her hand, her other hand tracing the words on the sheet of paper in front of her as she spoke, haunting words filling the air around her as she chanted.

Blinking, she saw the liquid in the bowl turn into a pale green mist speckled with her own pale pink power. After a moment of hovering in the air above the bowl it shot off into the distance. Streaming towards its target...Naraku.

XxX

Eyes of crimson red slid open upon the sensation of pure energy moving quickly towards his location. He didn't bother to stand, boredly glancing in the general direction of what looked like some type of mist. It burned through the miasma that was his barrier, and slipped through the open window, curling itself around his body like a strange pet.

He made to wave off the hovering form, and it twined around his fingers, sinking into his skin with a brief tingling sensation. It reminded him vaguely of the purifying power of a preistess, but it did not burn through his skin, so he could only assume the power of the Shikon Jewel had strengthened him beyond whatever petty curse had attempted to harm him.

Almost disappointed at the complete lack of reaction, he stood. He needed a distraction...Perhaps there was something alive nearby that could...entertain him...


	3. Developments

Title: **Naraku's Transformation**

Chapter Title: **Discovery of the Spell**

Rating: PG-PG13

Disclaimer: …yeah right. Like -I- would own Inuyasha

"Talking"

_thinking_

Let's get this party started!

XxX 

Kagome idly checked her watch for the third time in five minutes. It was a blue watch with a silver buckle and silver around the plastic that covered the numbers that showed her the time. "Two o' clock, on the dot….he should be here any minute now…" He, was the same person who attacked them every week on the same day, the same time. He, was the constant thorn in her side that had caused so much pain for her friends. He, was Naraku, the dark, evil, cruel, manipulating, handsome….She paused, blinking slightly. _Stop thinking stuff like that Kagome! Remember, there ARE demons out there that can read your mind. Plus, evil is BAD._

Somewhat satisfied with her mental lecture she snapped her head upwards as a large crash sounded somewhere deeper in the forest. Darting a glance at her watch she began running to the large clearing the rest of her friends were waiting at, calling back behind her in a singsong voice. "It's 2:01! You're late Naraku!" She finally slid to a stop next to Inuyasha, pulling her Bow from where it was hanging from her back and pulling out a single arrow. "This is it…this is where I find out whether it worked or failed…" Notching the arrow and pulling it back far enough so that her arms trembled slightly from the exertion she slowly counted down from five.

XxX 

Growling ever so slightly at the cheeky girl who had yelled back at him in such an annoyingly cheerful way, "It's 2:01! You're late Naraku!" he ran faster, hoping to rip her limb from limb and listen to her screams of pain if he could just catch her…He came to a screeching halt as a large boomerang passed inches in front of his face, harmlessly traveling in an arc back to its owner. He felt the hair on the back of his neck raise slightly in warning of danger and turned just in time to get a Sutra plastered to his forehead by a rather annoying violet eyed monk. He calmly pulled the Sutra from his head, feeling the slight stinging sensation that had accompanied it fading away.

Wordlessly he threw the Sutra back at the monk, not even bother attacking. It was far more fun playing around with the little groups' emotions and terrors than actually fighting them himself. Allowing a cruel smirk to slide onto his lips he turned his attention to the black haired woman with fiery eyes that was currently aiming an arrow for his heart. He could almost -feel- her sudden terror at his gaze and noticed her arm moving even farther backwards ever so slightly.

He was not an idiot, and he knew he could not avoid her arrow as easily as the demon slayers weapon, or merely take the hit and brush it off like with the monks Sutra's. His crimson eyes narrowed, glaring at the miko even as his signature miasma slowly spread across the field, creeping across the ground towards his opponents. "If you fire that arrow girl then I can promise you a slow and painful death." Even as he said these words he saw the girls lips curve into a small smile, daring him to just -try- while still somehow seeming almost…happy at his announcement. How peculiar…

**XxX**

It was now or never…if she shot at him he would probably recover and then attack her, which would show if her spell truly worked or not. If she didn't…then he would still eventually attack her. With a resigned sigh she loosed the arrow, watching it shoot towards him in a blur of brown surrounded by a brilliant pink.

XxX 

As predicted, Naraku easily dodged the arrow, and raced towards the foolish miko, claws extended. He could almost feel her blood dripping from his claws to the ground, see her eyes widening in fear, hear her heart beat slower and slower until it stopped beating…all in front of her friends. And as he leaped forwards for the kill, his bloodthirst growing with each passing second…his entire body exploded in searing, white hot pain and he stumbled backwards, hands clenching until crimson leaked from his palm, claws buried in the flesh of his hand.

"W-what…what did you do Miko?"

In response the blasted girl walked up to him confidently and began poking him in the chest, emphasizing each word she spoke.

"You, Naraku, are now completely unallowed to harm anything that has human blood within it. That includes Inuyasha. If you do decide to attack them then the same thing will happen to you that just happened now. This will continue until you undo Miroku's wind tunnel, apologize to both Inuyasha and Kikyo for ruining their love, and somehow make amends to Sango and Kohaku for destroying their family. After you've done ALL that then MAYBE we'll finally put you out of your misery. And, for future reference my name is Kagome. You think you can remember that?"

His crimson eyes narrowed in anger and he roughly shoved the woman away from him, wincing from the pain that erupted in his skull, though it was significantly less than last time. This little advancement created a good lot of problems. Such as killing all the higher lords of Japan, who happened to be human, ruling the world, and destroying the annoying groups that tried to kill him.

Glaring at the miko, and at the same time secretly marveling at her power and the gall of her for trying something like this, miasma wrapped around him like a cocoon and he disappeared from sight, though the last words he heard were from the young miko.

"Oh he'll be back. Don't worry! Though I'm gonna have to warn Kouga about this…"

The miko, no…Kagome, for he respected the woman enough now to actually use her name, would soon find out just how wrong she really was to be so confident in her shoddy little spell….


	4. Reactions

While this story doesn't REALLY play a big part other than identifying some of the actions and reactions of most of the characters, it still shows a more in-depths look on Kagome…I hope. Also, Inu begins to loosen his vice-like grip on dear Kagome's heart! Sorta…;sweatdrop; I'm really not very good at saying stuff about my own story…

Disclaimer: …what? I'm out of witty ideas for disclaimers right now. Give me five dollars and I'll TRY to think up something…maybe….not promising anything…

**Mr** **Nice** **Guy: **I'm trying to make the chappies longer now. Thanks!

**Kai Fong: **Yes Kagome and Naraku will be together by the end of the story, but I can't just totally rip apart Inu and Kag's love for each other in two seconds…so it will take awhile.

**Amy Lee: **o.o wow…That's a long review…and thank you SO much for it! I've been trying to write longer chaps each time…

**Heavenly Faye-Faye: **thanks! So far this fanfiction is a WAY improvement on most of my others…mostly because I'm actually updating instead of leaving the story to rot inside my computer…

"Talking"

'_thinking'_

XxX Scene Change XxX 

By the way, to all that don't know…

Hanyou: Half Demon

Miko: Priestess

Um…I think that's all the Japanese words I've used..

Now then! Onto the story!

XxX 

With a roar of anger he threw the cowering servant away from him, using all his self-control not to rip the poor quivering demon into shreds. Not one scroll, book, or text held any mention of the stupid spell that was keeping him from his plans! Of course he could wish on the jewel to get rid of the spell but that would be useless, for he had found out that with every wish he had made on the jewel, its powers decreased. He had even summoned every demon possessing strong magics that he could find, and not a single one could undo this stupid spell!

Although a good many of them had told Naraku the spell was directly connected to the Shikon Jewel, so if he destroyed that the spell would, most probably, be destroyed along with it…but that theory wasn't completely without flaws. He might destroy the jewel, and his own power, which he had received through it, would disappear as well, and the spell preventing him from injuring or killing all humans would still remain.

Kneeling down in front of a window, crimson eyes staring out at the bleak, dead scenery before him, he smiled as he began to plot. If no demons could tell him how to undo this intriguing little spell…then he'd just have to find a willing miko.

XxX 

They were staring at her again, she noted. Especially Inuyasha, he was staring at her…in a mixture of surprise, awe and that soft look in his eyes that he usually only reserved for Kikyo. Kagome blinked, realizing quickly that the reason Inuyasha was looking at her that way was because Kikyo would probably have done something like that, not Kagome. Kagome could just shield her friends from certain death and not actually do any harm to the enemies…maybe she was being a LITTLE pessimistic but…she had a right to be pessimistic!

She stood up suddenly, her left eye twitching a bit when she realized they all very quickly looked away from her. She forced a smile on her face and spoke, her words sweet and calm, and each one measured perfectly…they were all scared witless.

"Why do you all keep staring at me?"

Finally, after a good few seconds of nervous silence and some muttering, Shippo bounded up onto her shoulder and whispered something in her ear. By the end of Shippo's sentence her sweet smiling face had taken on a murderous look, and the little group all looked like they wished to be ANYWHERE in the world at that moment except for here. Inuyasha even tried to quickly run from the hut but a quick, "Sit boy!" and he was happily listening to whatever she had to say.

"So…you all think that I was possessed, or used some type of unimaginably old artifact to strengthen my power or something to that extent?"

Her words were still sweet and calm, and everyone still looked like they were waiting for the end of the world to happen in a few seconds. Obviously, no one spoke in fear of invoking her wrath even more.

With a satisfied smile she sat back down, still a bit irked that no one actually believed she had enough power to curse Naraku with such a powerful spell, one from HER time nonetheless but still, she couldn't really blame them. She'd never done spells that powerful before…

"Well I used my own power, JUST my own power thank you very much. Though it only prevents him from attacking humans, remember that okay Shippo?"

The little fox kit nodded warily; even he was a bit afraid of Kagome when she got like this. With a quick grin at the others, and the recovering Inuyasha, she settled back to wonder just how long it would be until Naraku realized there was no way out of her little spell.

XxX 

**A Few Days Later…**

The old woman stood, crouched somewhat, before the evil hanyou, pure fury glimmering deep within his crimson eyes, though no other trace of that fury could be detected beneath his cool facade.

"So then…you're telling me that even you, Tsubaki, as old as you are…"

She flinched visibly at that comment, a scowl flitting across her wrinkled features for a moment. Naraku continued his sentence as if he hadn't seen the action, though he made a mental note to make her pay for that later.

"…You cannot help me?"

She nodded slowly, obviously expecting at least form of punishment, the tainted Shikon shard glimmering beneath the fleshy skin of her neck.

"I am truly sorry Naraku…but I have never encountered a spell such as this before…there is nothing I can do…"

He stared at her for a few moments, smirking slightly as he saw her tense beneath his gaze. She was, to his knowledge, a human, and even though she had sold her soul to demons he was still pretty sure if he snapped her neck right now he would be in excruciating pain. Of course, if she HAD been able to solve his little problem then he would have snapped her neck anyway, just to actually test it out.

"Well that is a problem…oh well. Payment for your services is in the next room. Thank you for trying."

She snapped her head up, staring at him as if he was absolutely crazy, her mouth opening and closing much like a fish's. Finally, shaking her head and muttering about nutty demons these days she retreated out of the room and, a few seconds later, a piercing scream broke through the mansion. Smiling to himself, he closed his eyes and listened to the scream echo over, and over and over again…it was a big mansion.

Just because he couldn't personally kill anyone didn't mean that he couldn't get some low-life demon to do it for him.

The thrill of feeling the blood run over his claws, and see their eyes widening in fear, their final breath leaving their still warm body as they curse his very name with it…it was the entire reason he had stopped using incarnations to kill off his foes. Killing people himself was too much fun!

Finally, he rose and, commanding a nearby quivering servant to dispose of Tsubaki's body and take the Shikon shard back to his room, as well as threatening to rip his heart and ribcage out of his still living body if he so dared to even THINK of stealing the shard, he made his way to the outside of the building. Breathing in the delicious smell of rotting animal corpses, and dying plants, a smoky curtain of miasma wrapped itself around his form, and then disappeared into the wind.

He wouldn't let this Kagome win…not even if it killed him. If there wasn't a demon or priestess in Japan that could help him then he would just have to find someone else in a different place. There HAD to be someone who knew of this blasted spell other than the girl who cursed him.

XxX 

A sudden icy cold shudder rolled down Kagome's spine, sending chills over the rest of her body in response. Inuyasha blinked at her, ears twitching slightly a top of his head.

"What's wrong? Did you feel a jewel shard?"

She shook her head, a bit weirded out by the sudden feeling.

"Dunno…just a sudden chill."

Inuyasha paused for a moment, the scent of ashes and graveyard soil washing over him for the fifth time that hour. Kikyo was near, but Inuyasha, displaying a rare moment of intelligence, was ignoring her…or at least waiting until everyone fell asleep before mysteriously disappearing.

Kagome, too, had sensed Kikyo nearby, and had seen flashes of the ghostly soul stealers in the night sky, the moonlight reflecting off of their pale bodies and the even paler souls that they carried. That was the main reason she was still awake at roughly about two in the morning, if the moon was any indication. As long as she was still awake, hopefully Inuyasha wouldn't go running off to Kikyo.

She felt a little guilty that she was keeping the poor boy from his love, but this was for his own good!

…. Right?

Shaking off her doubts she glanced back to the hanyou, who was currently looking very awkwardly at the floor, his nose twitching every few seconds.

Yeah…this was for his own good. Kikyo might try to drag him to Hell with her, or hypnotize him, or make him go on some crazy death hunt for Naraku to avenge her, or become her personal slave or-or-…okay, maybe she WAS being a bit paranoid here, but she had right to be paranoid. This was Kikyo she was talking about!

The tragic priestess was hard to figure out, difficult to predict, and impossible to capture. But then…if Kagome really, truly loved Inuyasha…then maybe, just this once…she could let him go to Kikyo, because that was what HE wanted?

With a resigned sigh, she turned to him, plastering a soft smile onto her features.

"Just go to her Inuyasha."

He actually jumped, head snapping around so quickly she was surprised he didn't get whiplash, those eyes of molten gold staring at her in surprise.

"W-what? Who?"

She shook her head slowly, and smiled at him again, though this time it was a bit less fake.

"Kikyo. I know that she's nearby and you've been wanting to go to her for the past few hours. Just go, I understand."

She understood that he loved Kikyo with all his heart, that he owed her something, and trying to keep him from her was pointless…though that didn't stop her heart from slowly shattering, each tiny, dagger-sharp piece slicing away a part of her soul.

Inuyasha smiled at her, actually hugged her softly with a whispered 'thank you', and leaped out the door, his feet carrying him to Kikyo faster than he would have thought possible.

XxX 

There! That's roughly about four pages…which should be more than my last chapter. Things will begin to get far more exciting in the next chapter. Where Naraku will return from wherever he came, and Kagome will come to realize that just MAYBE Inuyasha isn't her true love after all! Review please!


	5. Freaked Out

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile! Trying to do two stories at once (Haven't updated in, like, a month on the other one….) is tougher than I though it'd be…Also, Naraku's Transformation now has over 650 hits! …. Which means a whole bunch of you won't review for some reason…oh well. Also, for all you that are just dying for Nar/Kag romance at this point…there's a little in this chapter. And no complaining Naraku is OOC! And, if anyone knows how you do that neat little brown line that all the GOOD authors do to separate sections of their stories…tell me how? Thanks. Now onto the ficcy!

Disclaimer: If I TRIED to kidnap the Inuyasha cast Sesshoumaru would tie me up and Naraku would probably kill in a horribly painful way…. then revive me and do it over again. . 

**reki-sama: **Yes! I'm updating! Your prayers have been answered! Heh heh.

'thinking'

"talking"

4 Months Later 

At almost the exact same moment every single person within their odd little group sighed. Even Kirara, which came out as more of a pathetic mew. Kagome sat down on a nearby mossy log, concentrating desperately for something, anything even resembling a Shikon shard. They had been searching for Naraku or at least some tidbit of news on him for months now, and had even wandered far into the Northern lands to look.

Yet another sigh escaped her as she lifted her gaze to the smoky gray sky, where she could already see tiny white snowflakes drifting down. Summoning up the strength to actually stand up she glanced around at the rest of their tired little group and decided that maybe, just maybe a nice hot bath would possibly give her some more energy.

Stepping in front of Sango and pointedly waving a hand in front of her face to catch the demon slayers attention she smiled as happy a smile as she could muster.

"Do you want to come to the hot springs with me Sango?"

The other girl merely shook her head and quickly and silently slipped back into her thoughts. Kagome worried about her sometimes, but at the moment she was still waiting for Miroku's signature offer to come with, which of course she would refuse. A moment passed, then another, and she blinked, amazed at the monk. There was no way he couldn't have heard her, he was sitting right next to Sango! Another moment slid by before she realized even he didn't have the energy to keep up his usual behavior. That only left Inuyasha, and of course he would make a big deal right? He wouldn't want to stop just for her and would start yelling and throwing a fit as usual…right? Smiling inwardly, and possibly outwardly too, she began walking into the forest, without any weapon at all, calling out behind her.

"I'm going to find the Hot Springs Inuyasha! I'll be back in a couple hours!"

It wouldn't take her that long to take a bath, and if that didn't get him to at least act a little normal then nothing would. Staring at him hopefully she saw his ears flick in her direction.

"Sure…see ya Kagome."

Hanging her head in defeat she began walking towards the Hot Spring she had somewhat noticed earlier…riding on Inuyasha's back and hopping a good twenty feet in the air had its advantages. Ah, but fate was not on her side today, as already proven by her less than enthusiastic companions reactions to anything she did. One minutes she was walking towards the Hot Spring, already feeling the delicious warmth that rolled off the steaming water in waves, and the next she was pressed roughly against a tree, the bark digging painfully into her back with a clawed hand wrapped around her throat. Opening her eyes carefully she saw crimson red eyes that looked like they wanted nothing more than to rip her limbs off her body. It was at that moment she realized she had no weapons except her miko powers and, more importantly, this demon was WAY too far into her personal space and it really didn't help that he was leaning even farther forwards until his nose brushed against hers slightly. Amazingly though, or not so amazingly as she would realize in a few seconds, the demon let her drop to the forest floor not too gently and stepped backwards revealing himself to be none other than Naraku.

'…Great. We search four months for this guy and then he comes out of nowhere and finds us! Stupid…jerk.'

Standing up and brushing the dirt and leaves off her miko outfit she glared at him, waiting pointedly for him to say whatever he wanted to say. She didn't have to wait too long, as he began pacing in front of her, reminding her weirdly of Inuyasha.

"I've searched every single land there is, from those freezing cold ones to the ones that are like deserts. Every single one I searched from top to bottom and what did I find? Nothing! Not one single person anywhere knew what kind of spell you cast on me!"

It was here that he stopped pacing, turning to her with a wild look in his eyes that scared her to no end, before she could even think to run though, or even scream he had her pressed against the same tree again, though this time he wrapped one hand around both of her small ones and held them above her as he stared at her with such an intensity she felt her breath catch in her throat.

She flinched slightly when his other hand came up, gently trailing down her cheek, the deadly sharp claws causing shivers to run down her spine.

"What have you done to me, Kagome?"

He leaned in closer until his forehead rested against hers, crimson eyes staring into her own and then…he vanished with only a wisp of miasma to show he'd ever been there at all. Falling to her knees and breathing in much needed air she shivered slightly, what happened running over and over again in her mind, like a faulty video. And the way he had said her name…she suddenly REALLY regretted ever telling him to remember it. Standing up, and using the tree for support, she slowly began to make her way back to the rest of her friends. Suddenly she really didn't feel like taking a bath.

XxX 

Naraku relaxed within the darkness of his mansion, all of his servants had left months ago and there was only perfect silence as his companion. Staring at the palm of his right hand he turned the different plans over in his head. He could easily destroy all of Kagome's friends with a few well placed requests, but that would turn her into either another Kikyo or a broken shell that couldn't and wouldn't ever release him from the spell that cursed him. He could simple seduce her, but that would also cause problems, like the fact that she might refuse to release from the spell if only that she could continue controlling him. A slight shudder rolled down his spine at that thought and he quickly discarded that plan. Finally, he settled on the most dangerous, but also the most brilliant of his plans. A slow, evil smirk spread across his lips as he began plotting the small, fine details that would slowly bring his plan together. It would take time, sure, but he had all the time in the world. Inspecting his right palm once more he traced a circle on it with one claw, his cold, cruel laugh echoing through the deserted mansion.

XxX 

"Hey Kagome…? How come you smell like Naraku?"

The question was soft, hesitant, and so carefully phrased she almost didn't believe it came from Shippo. But, despite how gently he asked, she visibly flinched, still desperately to forget that it ever happened. Closing her eyes she could actually feel three pairs of eyes focusing on her, the fact cemented when she heard their questions burst forth.

"You met Naraku Kagome!"

"Lady Kagome, is this true?"

"Kagome you're not hurt are you?"

Inuyasha's question, easily answered, same with Miroku's. Sango's on the other hand…was a little more difficult. Physically she wasn't hurt but she was severely creeped out and possibly mentally scarred for life. It was just that creepy to see your arch-villain a total basket case.

"Yes, yeah…um…not really?"

Collapsing onto the same log she had rested on earlier, she avoided their eyes, praying silently that they wouldn't try to pry. Aqua green eyes suddenly popped up in front of her, tiny little fox feet balanced precariously on her knee.

"What happened Kagome?"

Well…her prayer was somewhat answered…the others didn't pry, Shippo did! Smiling calmly at the fox kit she searched for the simplest way to tell them that wouldn't result in mass slaughtering.

"Nothing Shippo. He's still cursed by my spell remember? He tried attacking me, got a major headache, and ran off, cursing all the way!"

Miroku looked doubtful at her story, Sango looked worried and Inuyasha…well she wasn't looking at Inuyasha right now because she didn't know what she'd find on his face. Shippo seemed to believe her story and if he believed it then that was good enough for her. Patting him on the head affectionately she finally glanced at Inuyasha, shooting him a look that quite obviously said not to mess with her right now.

"Well, now that Naraku's reappeared we should probably be able to find more news about him right? Let's get going already! We've got to kill him before he causes any trouble!"

And though the time traveling miko was smiling, mentally she was plotting just how many different ways there were to torture a possibly immortal demon. An hour later, as they were walking down a dirt path, she was already on Torture Plan #195.


	6. Blood and Guts

WAHAHAHAHA! I have nine reviews! Nine! This is my most reviewed story ever now! Sorry I haven't updated in so long…I've been sorta busy. So, without further ado, I present to you the next chapter!

**Heavenly Faye-Faye: **heh heh heh. You'll see. And, even more Nar/Kag fluff? You think I'm planning THAT far ahead? I'm just making this up as I go along!

**Child of the Ashes**: YESSS! I have another faithful reviewer! And, thanks for both parts. I was a bit worried about the characters being totally out of character. I have problems with that…you…you think I'm funny? That's great! I totally stink at ALL humor! This makes me so happy!

**Kagamoesiun**: I guess I really do have bad updating habits…though I'm pretty surprised this little story is so popular! Thanks!

**reki-sama**: Torture Plan #195…trust me. You REALLY don't wanna know how Kagome is painfully killing Naraku in her head.

"Talking"

'_thinking'_

(A/N)

Disclaimer: ….Do I even need to comment on this one?

XxX

A scream pierced the calmness of the forest, tiny feet racing nimbly across the forest floor and amazingly not catching onto any roots and sending the small figure sprawling onto the earth. A sudden burst of what looked suspiciously like spit crashed into the ground only inches behind the person, melting like acid through the green undergrowth. It was at that exact moment Kagome broke through the surrounding brush, raven hair tangled up with a few thorn scratches on her hands and legs. Other than that though, she was fine.

"Shippo!"

The tiny fox kit turned to stare at her before jumping to the side out of instinct alone, narrowly missing another blast of acidic spit. The miko from the future took a step forwards out of pure worry for the child but he glanced at her again, shaking his auburn haired head furiously.

"Don't Kagome! It'll go after you too!"

She stared at the poor child despairingly before quickly notching an arrow onto her bow and aiming a good couple hundred feet into the air towards something only she could see. Or sense, to be more specific. They didn't know exactly –how- this demon…worm…thing had gotten a hold of the Shikon Jewel that was SUPPOSED to be in Naraku's possession, but it certainly made it easier to track. Another thing they couldn't really figure out was why it was going specifically after Shippo of all people.

Glaring fiercely at where she saw the shimmering black jewel, she loosed the arrow, the simple piece of wood empowered with holy spiritual power arcing gracefully over the trees…and landing a good couple of feet on the ground next to the long worm demon.

Vaguely she heard a certain silver haired dog demon cursing loudly from above the trees but she pointedly ignored that as Shippo darted off into the forest again to keep his friends out of danger, as well as make it more difficult for the giant worm demon trying to kill him. And Kagome, being the kind, caring, totally idiotic girl that she was, followed as quickly as she could, totally oblivious to everything except that the poor child that SHE had taken in, that SHE had protected, and that SHE had unofficially adopted as her own sort of son was in danger. And she'd be damned if she let something happen to him now!

And so, she stepped right into the war zone where a sudden crashing, left a pile of fallen trees blocking her path, leaving her to watch helplessly as the giant worm pushed past the trees, its rows of dagger sharp teeth aimed at the poor, fear stricken kit, her heart beating painfully within the cage of her chest. Once, twice, thrice and then she saw red. Literally. The worm burst apart into a bloody mess, only the trees in front of her shielding her from the chunks of flesh and globs of organs sent flying.

Shutting her eyes tightly and recoiling behind the barrier of trees she was surprised when something warm, furry, and very, very sticky was dropped into her arms. Chocolate brown eyes flew open, staring at the hanyou who had occupied her thoughts constantly for the past few days. The hanyou who had died repeatedly in her mind so many times and in so many different ways she'd lost count. The hanyou…who had taken, her breath away for the second, time this week.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, for there stood none other than Naraku himself, casually brushing off a piece of mottled flesh from his arm. Yes. His arm. Because he was not wearing his signature baboon pelt. Instead, he was clothed in a simple black shirt, one sleeve torn completely off, the other ripped and dangling by a few threads. Kagome didn't really see what shoes, if any, he was wearing. She was concentrating too much on his face. He wasn't wearing his hair up, instead, the black, inky locks spilled down his back, a few wisps sticking to his face.

Glancing down at the object he had dropped into her arms she had to use all of her willpower to not shriek. Poor little Shippo, absolutely drenched in blood, flesh and organs, was lying unconscious, or dead, she couldn't tell which, in her arms.

"He's alive. Or should be at least."

The voice jerked her from her thoughts and she whipped her head up quickly, staring at him in a mixture of drop-dead shock and relief. No wait…it was just drop dead shock.

"You saved him…why?"

Naraku tucked away the tainted Shikon jewel before turning to face her, his tone deadly serious.

"Make no mistake Kagome. I only saved the fox kit because it was convenient. I needed the Shikon Jewel back and the fox just happened to be in my way. Consider it luck that I didn't merely kill him."

Kagome was stuck between an onslaught of both overwhelming rage and the extreme need to thank him for saving Shippo. Of course, she would die before she thanked her enemy so she went with deadly rage.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Oh? You think you have that much control over me?"

And then she slapped him. Even more amazing than that, was that she hadn't poured every ounce of miko power she had into that slap and purified the hell out of him! His head was turned at an odd angle, crimson eyes wide, and a pinkish mark in the form of a handprint already beginning to appear on his cheek. Kagome was holding onto Shippo with one arm, the other still stinging from the force she had delivered that slap with and they both stayed that way for a second…and then he threw back his head and _laughed_.

She bristled, eyes narrowing as she drew back her hand, whether to punch him, slap him again, or to grasp for the bow on her back, she wasn't sure, but she wanted to _hurt _him.

He turned back to her, a teasing smile on his lips and, though 09she had to double take to make sure, amusement glimmering in his crimson eyes.

"I like you Kagome."

And then he was gone again, in a burst of miasma and the jewel safely, or not so safely, depending on how you looked at it, in his possession again. Mere moments later the silver haired hanyou jumped down, staring at the blood covered chunks of flesh and organs surrounding the area with unconcealed disgust, that disgust changing to confusion as he picked up Naraku's scent.

Kagome came to her senses the moment her favorite hanyou landed, her mind bursting into action again and running a mile a minute, reviewing just what exactly had happened.

Miroku and Sango, and a weary Kirara emerged from the tangle of vines and brush, the two humans amazingly preoccupied with Miroku's hand. His right hand, to be exact. His right hand…that suddenly didn't have a black hole in it.

"What the hell is going on around here?"

This came from not only the amazingly predictable Inuyasha but, even more amazingly, from Kagome, who was completely dumbstruck and absolutely livid from Naraku's recent and completely unpredictable behavior. The two paused, blinked at each other, and nodded solemnly, smiles tugging at both their lips.

"My thoughts exactly."

XxX

Naraku sat, pondering. This wasn't too odd a habit for him of course but, for once, he wasn't thinking about how to completely annihilate his opponents from the inside out. He was thinking about his past incarcanations, Kanna, Kagura, Goshinki, Muso, and all the others. Of course, most of them were completely disrespectful and constantly either tried to kill him or run away but had their uses.

Kanna; completely respectful, quiet, helpful…it was a shame she had to die. In fact, the evil demon almost considered making another of the girl. A tricky business, obviously, and the fact he hadn't tried anything like it before, if only for the reason there was absolutely no NEED to do so before, but it would certainly make things a bit easier than randomly guessing where his various opponents were.

Smirking, he decided that he would, in fact, try to make a replica of dear Kanna. If he succeeded in this then the possibilities! He could bring back that damned Kagura, kill her and repeat the process until she was, most definitely, one of the most loyal incarnations he had created. That thought alone was enough to convince him to immediately carry out his idea. But he would wait until he was absolutely sure he could create at the very least a being similar to Kanna. The last thing he needed was another Juromaru & Kageromaru being, except this time in the body of a little girl that could steal souls.

Disgust at the chaos that could cause made him scowl at the very thought of such a thing happening…

XxX

"I wonder if Naraku would be good at Algebra…?"

Four pairs of eyes turned to stare at the girl, Kirara merely accepting the humans madness and settling down for a nap. Quickly, she tried to explain before they took her to the Feudal equivalent of a mental hospital.

"I mean, he spends hours thinking up ways to intricately twist our movements until we have no choice but to do what he wants! He'd probably be awesome at Algebra if he learned it…"

Questioningly, Shippo bounced up onto her shoulder, every inch of him scrubbed raw of blood and guts until his skin was an odd pink color.

"Kagome? I don't really think that Naraku will help you with your homework…"

The girl sighed, hanging her head in defeat as the dream of finding a tutor for Algebra five hundred years in the past was discarded.

"I know…but I still can't get this and I miss about half the lessons back home and no one here even knows what I'm talking about!"

The boy patted her gently on the shoulder, actually understanding half of what she mumbled since she complained about math so much.

"It's okay Kagome…I'm sure everything will work out fine!"

The rest of their little group muttered half-hearted sympathies and assurances, having learned to mostly just tune her out when she got like this… which earned them a sharp glare from the little fox demon.

Sighing, Kagome returned to her math book…or pretended to anyways.

'What is that jerk planning anyways? Everything he's doing is completely…random! And what's his whole point anyway? He's already our worst enemy and ticking me off while helping our friends is just weird! ….Maybe he's finally cracked?'

XxX

Sorry for the short chapter but…it's been far too long since I updated and I had to give you guys something. Gomen! I promise that next chapter that the –true- plot will be underway! Well…by that I mean more Nar/Kag fluff. Also, I should tell you now that I'm making this up as I go and that I have no clue how this will end…heh heh heh… Now in true Japanese spirit…

Tsuzuku…

(to be continued…)


	7. Algebra

Heya everyone who's still reading this! At the moment of writing, it's a couple days since my last update! But, by the time the chapter is finished, it'll probably be about a month later! Also, this story is rate K+ which means Pg-13…I think. I doubt the rating will have to be upped much in the near future…and this KAGOME we're talking about. Don't expect too much people!

**Box Queen: **Thanks! And, yeah, this is definitely a Nar/Kag pairing.

Disclaimer: I'm actually GLAD I don't own Naraku…Poor Rumiko Takahashi must be half dead keeping him from destroying the world.

* * *

Inuyasha and Shippo were arguing again over candy or Shippo being a brat or…something. She lost track of WHAT they were arguing about exactly when it was reduced to,

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Now, normally she could deal with this type of thing…but Sango and Miroku were arguing too! Well…Sango was arguing, Miroku was pleading innocence and trying not to get killed with Hiraikotsu. And usually, she would be on at least one of their sides!

But…the Algebra was bugging her, her friends were being noisy, and she could NOT concentrate there! So, relinquishing the grassy clearing they had chosen to rest in, she had wandered into the forest, bow and arrows in hand, and after perching on a mossy log, had began on her Algebra again.

"What is that?"

She jumped, spinning around, her hand stopping mere inches from her 'attackers' face, glowing a bright hot pink color that, even without touching him, must be at the very least causing the guy some discomfort.

"Naraku! What…are you doing here!"

He shrugged, his crimson gaze focused on her in a way that seriously freaked her out…he looked like a hyena or a wolf or something…

"I'm here for you Kagome. I missed you."

She let out a frustrated groan, the glow around her hand dissipating as she pointed her finger at him irritably.

"Look buster, you're our enemy. MY enemy! I cursed you! I. Cursed. You! Doesn't that mean ANYTHING?"

He smirked, ever calm, even when faced with a highly emotional girl who could purify him to dust…and then purify that dust into nothing at all.

"Why, Kagome…Even though you've cursed me you've never actually done anything to hurt me. And I've never done anything to hurt you either. Why do you hate me so?"

She twitched, leaning forwards slightly, her eyes blazing.

"You MUST be joking. You cursed Miroku, betrayed Kikyo and Inuyasha, destroyed Sango's family using her own little brother…!"

He interrupted her, placing one finger on her lips to silence her, which she immediately backed away from. ANY physical contact with Naraku that didn't involve hurting and/or killing him was bad. Very bad.

"And yet, I've never hurt you Kagome."

She glared at him, every fiber of her being itching to kill him, to whack some sense into him, to TELL him he was WRONG.

"I've hurt you though! I've attacked you time after time! I blew up your body for Pete's Sakes! You're supposed to HATE me! To want to kill me! That's what enemies DO!"

Vaguely, he wondered who Pete was but cast that off to be learned later. Instead, his smirk widened as he advanced, slowly, quietly, threateningly.

"But I can't hurt you Kagome, because of your little spell. And I can't hate you either; you've gained my respect. I LIKE you, Kagome and, even though I can't seem to hurt you…you can't seem to hurt me anymore either. Can you?"

At this point, she was backed up against a tree, her bow and arrows all but forgotten as she glanced around hastily for an exit. Suddenly though, she realized that this was exactly how he had gotten to her last time! Turning on him, she began walking towards him, her entire being radiating pure, unspoken hatred that glowed a threatening red smattered with pink.

Backing away in surprise, and because he didn't particularly want to be turned to dust, he was vaguely shocked when he felt that he was the one pressed against the tree, while Kagome loomed over him, looking like she was about to kill him…which she probably was.

Even in the face of potential death though, he kept calm, none of his emotions breaking the surface as he merely smirked at her.

"What's wrong Kagome? You're actually thinking of killing me now? After I've obtained the Shikon, became a full demon, and still allowed all your pathetic friends to live? You owe me Kagome."

Her glare intensified, as well as her purifying aura, until he felt shivers running down his spine and the faintest scent of burnt flesh coming to his attention. Dang…he really was going to die.

"Shut up!"

Oh well. There was really only one way to respond to something like that…and even though it would infuriate her even more, he couldn't resist. Why not have one moment of enjoyment before being burned away into infinity?

"Make me."

She leaned forwards, hands outstretching, covered in that odd reddish-pink glow, towards his neck. And then he made his move.

He stepped forwards, directly into the aura of her power, and slipped one clawed hand behind her head, tangling it in her rich, dark locks not entirely unlike his own. Memorizing the shocked look on her face, the confusion mixed with vague fear in her dark, chocolate brown eyes, he sealed his mouth over hers before she could react.

* * *

She maybe had enough time to blink before he was suddenly kissing her, her brain catapulting into overdrive as she vaguely tried to realize exactly what was happening here. Through the sudden haze wrapped around her mind, she made the obvious observations.

Naraku, their enemy since…well…forever, was currently kissing her…

Kagome, the girl fighting to kill Naraku, currently in a bit of a daze and allowing Naraku to kiss her…

Now, boys and girls, what about this picture didn't belong?

Well, maybe allowing him to kiss her wasn't a good speculation…with his hand against her head she couldn't really get away if she wanted to. Not that she was really trying but…

Her mind suddenly decided that thinking was becoming rather bothersome, and that Naraku was a REALLY good kisser. A really, really good kisser. Inuyasha never kissed this well…And this thinking problem had to be solved immediately.

And so, anything close to a coherent thought was instantly vaporized before it came close to being formed.

Not quite returning the kiss, but not exactly pulling out of it either, her eyes closed contentedly, her hands pressed against Naraku's chest and, oddly, still sizzling with her purification powers, even without any thought processes going on in her brain.

Too bad miko powers never seemed to need much thinking to work…

* * *

He was happily surprised by two things at this point. That Kagome wasn't trying to break this interesting little kiss, and that he wasn't dead yet from the purification coursing through his body from two different places.

First, was her hands, pressed against his chest and pouring pure, holy energy into his body. Second, was her mouth, which was what finally forced him to pull away, a tiny stream of smoke rising from one corner of his lips.

Kagome blinked slowly, as if rising from a deep sleep, and then stared at him. He almost believed that she was completely calm for a moment…and then he felt the stinging slap empowered with sizzling energy, and watched the young miko storm off into the forest. He'd really have to get her to stop slapping him…

Frowning slightly, his crimson eyes caught onto the colorful edge of a book, though there were no books like this he'd ever seen before. Picking it up carefully, he studied the cover curiously, the title bringing only more questions.

"Algebra…"

* * *

I'm sorry! I couldn't resist! Maybe I should rename this to Algebra…? Nah. It'd sound weird. And now, for reader interaction! I gave you Naraku/Kagome fluff so you must give me votes! And lots of them… 'cause they might just influence the story! Who knows? Kanna's a very important piece in the story y'know…well she is now anyway. Please vote! I really have no clue what to do with poor Kanna…and I anticipate how this voting will turn out…

Emotional Kanna: 0

Juromaru/Kageromaru Kanna: 0

Kagura in Kanna's body: 0

Older Kanna: 0

Same old Kanna: 0

Sorry, but that's all the ideas I've got for now…feel free to vote for your own ideas of Kanna's revised version, but be warned, you only have a limited time to do so!

Tsuzuku…


	8. Kikyo, Kikyo, Kikyo

YESSSS! We've got votes! And, since the Older AND emotional Kanna has been combined…in two reviews…it's now it's own category. And winning nonetheless!

Older Kanna: 1

Same old Kanna: 1

Older, Emotional Kanna: 2

Emotional Kanna: 1

**Kags21: **The more Nar/Kag stories there are, the better!Thanks for the review and the vote!

**Box** **Queen: **Thanks for the vote!

**Japanimeniac: **Thank you! I'm glad I'm not the only one...

**Heavenly Faye-Faye: **Go emotional Kanna! I'm glad you liked the fluff too! Also, I'm still surprised by the fact people like my weird sense of humor. Lol

**blahblah: **Thanks! Your vote has been counted!

**Raja crimson hunter: **Thank you! I guess it's kinda obvious I don't like Algebra ne?

Disclaimer: In the immortal words of Inuyasha…Feh.

* * *

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did no-"

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

The two currently arguing youkai stopped their rather childish argument and turned to look at Kagome, who was busy throwing things out of her large backpack at an alarming rate.

After a quick duel of rock, paper, scissors Inuyasha crept over to the frantic miko, nimbly dodging random objects that came flying at him.

"Uh…Kagome? What are you doing?"

She spun around to look at him and he recoiled, taking an instinctive step backwards at her rather crazed look.

"What am I doing? What am I doing? I'm looking for my Algebra book! Now help me find it!"

He blinked at her, then shoved his hands into his sleeves, turning to walk back to Shippo to continue their 'conversation'. His answer was simple, and Kagome would obviously accept it.

"Why should I?"

Dead silence swept over the clearing and he shivered, not daring to turn around to look at her as his ears flattened against his head. Maybe…she wasn't going to just accept it…

* * *

He watched the silver haired hanyou get flattened to the ground a good couple times before he lost count at around twenty or thirty…he sometimes wondered how the dog demon was still able to stand after that spell was used…At least he wasn't the only one cursed, though his curse was significantly worse than that half breed's.

Lifting his gaze from the mirror to his creation he smirked. She wasn't exactly how he had wanted her to turn out…but she was still his most perfect creation.

"That's enough, Kanna."

The girl nodded, her snowy white locks falling slightly over her face with the simple movement. Her hair was shorter, ending just short of her shoulders instead of the long tresses she had once had…

Amazingly, her memories were still completely intact. Every fight, every experience, all of it was still there…And she was still completely loyal to Lord Naraku. Kagura was a fool…If the wind youkai couldn't kill Naraku herself, Kagura would never be able to live a free life.

Moving away from Lord Naraku, she retreated to the very back of the cave, a smirk tugging slightly at her lips. For the first time in her short life she felt a mixture of pride at being chosen to be recreated over her younger sister, and true evil flooding through her blood.

She would be far more help to Lord Naraku this time around…She would prove to him that reviving her was not a mistake. And if Kagura was revived as well…Then of course she would give her a greeting that her younger sister would never forget…

* * *

A pained moan escaped his lips as Inuyasha twitched on the ground, the miko standing over him nodding, satisfied with her work, and turning to claw through her bag again. Halfway there though she paused, remembering exactly when she had it last…right before Naraku had began bugging her again…which meant it was still there!

Squealing happily, she ran off towards the mossy log where she had dropped her book, expecting to find it exactly where she had left it…more or less.

Maybe a little muddy, and dirt but still usable. When she reached the area though she stopped, a chill running through her body and freezing her in her tracks.

Kikyou was standing there calmly, one pale hand pressed against the tree Kagome had ended up backing Naraku up against, her cool brown eyes closed at the moment. Like all the other times she had walked accidentally in on the dead priestess she felt…out of place and awkward. Everything about the woman was perfect, not a hair out of place, not a smudge of dirt on her traditional miko robes.

She began to edge away, already planning to come back later, much later, for her book when the priestess turned, her eyes locking onto her reincarnation with a ferocity that scared her.

"Kagome…"

The girl in question flinched visibly, the way she'd said her name was so…eerie. The fact that she'd actually said her name was weird by itself; usually she was just 'That girl' or 'My reincarnation' or something like that…

"That's your name, isn't it?"

She flinched again, though, hopefully, it wasn't as obvious as before. She wasn't really scared of Kikyou, the priestess hadn't tried to kill her or Inuyasha in awhile now…it's just the way she was speaking was frigid, freezing her blood in her veins…

Realizing she wanted an answer she nodded hesitantly, trying to not look like a total idiot.

"Y-yes…that's my name…But if you don't mind me asking, why are you using it? I mean, you haven't really bothered to learn it before…"

Kikyou removed her hand from the rough bark of the tree, the faintest hiss of energy slipping from her fingertips as she moved away from it.

"He respects you enough to use your name. Therefore, if he respects you enough, then I should respect you enough."

It was then that Kagome started getting worried, a frown tugging lightly at her lips.

"Do you mean…Inuyasha?"

The fact that Inuyasha might have only just now started using her name in the presence of Kikyo was both insulting and relieving…insulting, because he'd never bothered to even remember her existence when he was with Kikyo. Which also lead to the idea that maybe…just maybe…he was beginning to care a bit more about her?

Those lovely thoughts swirling around in her brain came to a screeching halt when Kikyo shook her head, looking rather annoyed.

"You've been talking with Naraku. I can see the presence of his aura all around you; it's like a disease. Spreading to everything it touches. Consider yourself lucky it hasn't begun tainting your soul yet."

Something cold gripped onto her heart as she took a step backwards instinctively. If she had been freaked when Kikyo had been just plain talking, she was ready to have a heart attack when she began speaking of Naraku…

The hatred in her voice, malice dripping like poison from every word…This was the Kikyo that she was afraid of. The remains of a soul clinging to earth only by hate.

"Kikyo! What are you doing to Kagome!"

The two miko's turned, blinking at the silver haired hanyou who had just appeared at the edge of the clearing they were at.

Kagome's eyes narrowed slightly, the frown that had been steadily scraping away at her smile turning into a scowl.

'I bet he came to see his precious Kikyo…' 

The moment those words had fully sunk in though she blinked, one hand flying to her mouth as if to physically prevent them from ever being spoken.

'_What am I thinking? I practically gave him permission to go see Kikyo whenever he wanted…Besides, I shouldn't be jumping to conclusions like that! He might have come to see what was taking me so long…'_

Kikyo glanced at the girl, who was completely lost in her own thoughts. That left her to explain this rather…interesting situation. It wasn't everyday, or century, that you had a conversation with your reincarnation after all.

"We were merely talking, Inuyasha."

He looked at her with the slightest flicker of suspicion, doubt, in his golden eyes, and she had to wonder if he had heard the last bits of their conversation. She had meant it to be only between herself and the girl, no…Kagome. Not only would that last scrap of information possibly turn the entire group against the g-, Kagome, but Inuyasha might actually suspect she had been lying to try and turn them against her.

After a moment he nodded though, accepting her answer, and turned to focus his attention on Kagome, who was now frowning, eyes fixed on the ground and looking very, very worried.

She hadn't particularly finished everything she had come here to do yet, but it was enough for now. She had more important things to worry about. Like what Naraku was planning with…Kagome.

Like a ghost she slipped away from the hanyou and miko still standing in the clearing, making her way towards the dark, miasma covered cave where Naraku was currently hiding.

* * *

My goodness…I'm actually thinking of where to go next with this. Interestingly, I never really planned for an ending, since I've never completed any of my stories before…I'd have to say this is beginning to get into the true middle of the story now though. Poor Kagome's gonna have some real trouble soon…

Tsuzuku…

(to be continued…)


	9. Consequences

o.o Wow….I got five reviews in one day. I check my review and it goes from 17 to 22 and I'm like, What the heck? And at the same time…. This is the most reviewed and seen story out of all of mine by so much! Thank you all! TT.TT

**Box** **Queen**: I'm going, I'm going! Quality over quantity…or something like that.

**Igor** **Lollipop**: Thanks! There are a lot of good Nar/Kag stories out there, but I think there should tons more! I've also never liked how Kikyo is always portrayed a horrible villainess and, while she does do some….weird…things, she's always come through more or less in the end.

**Child** **of** **the** **Ashes**: Actually, I replaced chapter eight with a different chapter because I made a teensy mistake during editing. My bad! So I don't think you missed an update. I'm always surprised when I hear people laugh at my humor! I always think my jokes are horrible…I'm usually not good at that type of stuff.

**Kags21**: You got it!

**Heavenly** **Faye**-**Faye**: Yup! I'm updating quicker now…I think.

Disclaimer: If Inuyasha belonged to me….trust me. The list goes on for a LOOOOONG while.

* * *

"Kagome?"

She jerked out of her thoughts at the sound of her name being called, staring at Inuyasha in surprise after a quick glance proved Kikyo had vanished.

"Yes?"

He frowned at her and, in a flash, was almost an inch in front of her, nose twitching as he sniffed. She yelped in surprise and backed away, slamming rather hard into a tree.

"W-What do you think you're DOING?"

The frown turned into a scowl and he grabbed her arm, beginning to drag her back to the campsite. It didn't really hurt, he made sure to be careful with his claws, but she tried to tug out of his grasp anyways.

"You smell like Naraku. It's faint, but it's there. How could I not have noticed before!"

They burst into the campsite, Inuyasha with rage almost visibly surrounding him, and Kagome trying in vain to keep up with his long strides. The rest of their little group was immediately on its feet, except Shippo, who was on the ground with a large bump on his head.

He sat her down roughly on a tree stump, Sango and Miroku standing behind him and glancing between her and Inuyasha, trying to figure out what was wrong. This was bigger than the standard 'I'm going home, No you're not, SIT!' arguments they had…

"What are you doing with Naraku! Is he stalking you? Threatening you? Bribing you? And why is he after you in the first place?"

He opened his mouth to say more, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Turning to glare at Miroku, the faintest spark of red swirling in his golden eyes, Miroku backed off, hands raised peacefully.

"Inuyasha…Naraku is probably after Kagome because she was the one that cursed him. He's obviously searching for a cure and Kagome is the most likely person to give it to him. The only reason he hasn't harmed her yet is because of the very spell Kagome cast on him."

Inuyasha glanced back at Kagome, who was sitting quietly, trying very hard not to be noticed, and then back to Miroku. His words seemed logical enough…but then again, how many people had been fooled by the monks' words?

Closing his eyes for a moment and thinking, when he reopened them the golden orbs shone without a hint of red, and the entire group sighed in relief.

"Alright then. What do you suggest we do Miroku?"

The monk frowned slightly, his fingers curling around his staff a bit tighter than normal as he thought.

"We should probably keep a closer eye on Kagome than normal. Naraku has only come after her when she was alone, and so if we're always near, I doubt he'll go so far as to attack her when she's with us."

The hanyou nodded slightly in agreement, his ears swiveling atop his head as Kagome coughed loudly, efficiently drawing the groups' attention towards her.

"I don't…I mean, Naraku has never actually attacked me…We just talked. That's all."

Inuyasha muttered something unintelligible and dragged Miroku a little further away, where the two began talking to each other in low voices. Sango stared at the two for a moment before kneeling next to where Kagome sat, her eyes both pained and sympathetic at the same time.

"Kagome…you know we're your friends, right? You can us anything. Well…at least you can tell me anything, right Kagome?"

The future schoolgirl smiled, resisting the urge to pour out a descriptive list of the things that had happened between her and Naraku. She trusted Sango but…getting kissed by your best friends family's murderer wasn't exactly something the demon slayer would understand…

"Of course Sango. I trust you more than anyone."

The demon slayer nodded, smiling back just as the boys came back. Kagome blinked as a sticky sheet of paper with symbols written all over it was plastered to her forehead, a shiver running down her spine as she tried to stare up at it, only succeeding in crossing her eyes and looking weird.

"What the…?"

"It's for your own safety Lady Kagome. We believe Naraku has placed a spell over you. This will keep both him, and the spell at bay until we can think up something better."

She glared at him, reaching up to pluck off the silly sutra and yelping as a jolt of electricity ran up her arm.

"What…? What the HECK was that!"

Miroku smiled sheepishly, taking a few steps away from the extremely ticked off miko. Kagome was prone to be rather…violent…when she was upset. Just ask Inuyasha.

"I told you Lady Kagome…it's for your own safety! Please don't try and remove it again…you'll only be hurting yourself."

She looked up at Inuyasha pleadingly, who had remained eerily quiet for the past few minutes, his gaze focused on something in the distance.

"Inuyashaaaaaa…You can't let Miroku do this to me! It's not faaaair!"

He muttered something she couldn't hear and turned away, focusing even more intently on the thing in the distance. Whatever that thing was, it must be really interesting….

Sango sighed at the treatment of her friend but made no move to do anything. This was Naraku, and if that sheet of paper would keep Kagome safe, she definitely wasn't going to take it off.

"Let's go back to Kaede's home…at the very least Kagome should spend a day or two at home. Naraku can't get her there."

A 'feh' was her only response, and she took it for a yes, Kirara transforming into her larger form and picking up Shippo by the collar of his shirt at the unspoken command.

Kagome climbed up onto the fire cats back, determined to stay as far away from Inuyasha at the moment as possible. Even if he was doing this for her safety…she still felt slightly betrayed. He didn't trust her spell to do its job, he didn't trust her words when she told him she could handle it, and above all, he didn't seem to trust her!

A rather depressing air hung over the group as they set back out towards Kaede's village, more than a few glances and concerned stares directed towards their miko and friend.

* * *

Naraku had immediately moved once he'd felt Kikyo's presence nearby, retreating to a long abandoned mansion that, ironically enough, he'd used once before. An encounter with Kikyo right now, although interesting, the outcome could have dire consequences.

Unlike with most, Kikyo was far more difficult to understand and predict at times…

At the moment though, he was not focusing on Kikyo as much as Kagome, who had gotten herself into yet another predicament…her friends had found out about his meetings with the girl and were now trying to protect her.

How sweet.

If he weren't cursed with that wretched spell he would've slaughtered them all already. Alas, he could do nothing personally at the moment and so had prepared a little…surprise for the group at their village.

They would not keep him from Kagome, for if they did he would never be free of this spell. He was convinced now, and had ceased searching for a counterspell, instead focusing all his attention on how to convince his 'dearest' Kagome to free him herself.

She was his curse, and no one would keep it from him.

* * *

I'm so sorry that this chapter is so short! But I promise the next one will make up for it! I'm actually starting to plan this out so it should start looking a bit less…random. Also I'm going to try and start showing the other people in Inuyasha as well. Kouga, Sesshoumaru and the ever lovable Kohaku-kun! I've kinda ignored them lately… 


	10. Loophole

Ohh…. dang. I just realized, in my last chapter, I left out something in the final sentence. It was supposed to say, "She was his cure" NOT "She was his curse". I'm sorry!

**Box** **Queen**: Thanks! I'd hate to disappoint my readers though…

**Jerica**: Wow…really? I keep thinking mine sucks compared to some of the other Nar/Kag's out there…mostly the one-shots rock. I'll try to answer your questions as best I can…to a degree. I can't give away the story.

**Sveta89**: o.o I'm glad it's funny…?

**Igor** **Lollipop**: Yess! Another reviewer has fallen into my clutches…Mwahahahaaaa! Ahem. I try to keep Kagome as in character as possible…Same with Naraku. My greatest fear is that they become OOC….

**Child** **of** **the** **Ashes**: I'm sorry…but the entire story is mainly Naraku/Kagome…And they're not trying to be mean, they're just trying to protect her. Though it's not like Naraku could be stopped by a strip of paper…

Disclaimer: I own none except my older, more emotional Kanna. Sorta…

* * *

They had managed to reach Kaede's village fairly quickly, considering that they had been attacked by a Fly Demon, a swarm of Hornet Demons, and finally, to her everlasting disgust, a giant blob of blue and green goop that had been almost impossible to destroy. 

It had splattered everywhere after a final attack of Inuyasha's Wind Scar, and everyone was completely drenched in sticky, multicolored blobs of goo that were almost impossible to get out of hair and clothing.

She and Inuyasha had decided to, instead of stopping by Kaede's village, go straight to the well. The demons had been sent by Naraku, that much was certain, and the faster she got home the less danger everyone was in.

Inuyasha was still completely silent, not even trying to argue with her not to leave to go back to her time. She shouldn't have been surprised really…he'd sent her home before, but there was always the chance that he would seal the well, and keep her from ever returning.

Her friends were the world to her, and without them she would never have survived this long in the Feudal Era. It was for them that she had done that spell to keep Naraku from harming them, it was for them that she refused to let him tear the cure from her, and it was for them that, if she had to, she would fight tooth and nail to stay here and continue to protect them.

The well was just ahead, a few small trees concealing it from view when she stopped walking suddenly, Inuyasha turning to stare at her.

"Kagome?"

She stared back at him evenly; absentmindedly gripping onto a low hanging branch of a nearby tree in case her plan didn't quite work.

"Inuyasha…I'm not going to leave unless you promise me you won't seal the well."

She sensed the curse springing to his lips, saw the brief flash of annoyance in the golden orbs, and was rather surprised that he actually tried to hide it at all. She knew him too well for him to hide things like that from her.

"Of course I won't seal the well. Without you, we can't get the Shikon back from Naraku, and I can't become a full-fledged demon. Feh. Did you forget or somethin'?"

A frown tugged at her lips, and she didn't move from the spot, continuing to stare at him seriously.

"Inuyasha…Promise me."

He met her gaze, golden eyes clashing with brown as the silent clash of wills, both ferociously stubborn, fought against each other.

He was the first to look away, ears drooping slightly in defeat as he glared at the ground.

"Fine. I promise I won't seal the well. Happy now?"

With a grin that erased all previous traces of her seriousness only moments before, she leaned so that she was directly in his line of vision.

"Yep!"

He scowled at her and jammed his arms into his sleeves, another 'feh' slipping out as he began walking towards the well again with barely audible mutters hanging in the air behind him.

She practically skipped next to him, most of her attention directed on him, and the rest of her attention put into making sure she didn't slam headfirst into any trees. When he stopped dead in his tracks though, eyes wide and staring in front of him, she frowned, her own gaze slowly following his until she spotted just what it was that could stop Inuyasha so effectively…

The well.

Or rather…what was left of it.

The empty wooden well had been shattered into thousands of tiny wooden slivers that covered the ground, while the well itself looked as though something had exploded out of it.

The edge of the well that hadn't been destroyed was bent outwards, large, spidery cracks showing through the old wood as it tried desperately to stick together.

All of this was absorbed in seconds before she crumpled to the ground, unable to look away no matter how horrible the sight was, the way it twisted her heart painfully to look at what was left of the one way she had to get home.

"No…"

* * *

Inuyasha was forcibly pulled from the shock of seeing the well that had survived many years of demons, wars, and the sometimes-odd weather patterns, so torn and ruined by the sudden movement next to him. 

He turned quickly, watching Kagome simple collapse to the ground, hands clenching the grass beneath them until the ripped and tore the fragile blades from the ground.

If the well had such an effect on him…what must it be like for Kagome? Without the well, she was stuck here…forever…with him. And while he felt sympathetic to the poor girl, he couldn't help the sudden realization of that statement, and just barely resisting smirking.

She couldn't go back home now…she would remain here, in the Feudal Era. But the same way he realized that she could never go back home with the well in such a state, he also remembered the reason why she needed to go back in the first place, and spat the name out with disgust.

"Naraku."

A chilling laugh answered him, the cold sound echoing through the seemingly abandoned forest making it virtually impossible to pin down the man's hiding place.

"Very good, Inuyasha. You really are smarter than they give you credit for…"

The half demon snarled, ears twitching towards even the tiniest sounds as he sought desperately for where Naraku was, fingers curling around the hilt of his ever-trusty sword, Tetsusaiga.

"What did you destroy the well for, Naraku!"

Silence greeted the accusation, the angry words easily overpowered by the all-consuming quiet. He almost believed Naraku had fled, when a mocking laugh finally responded.

"Or…maybe not…"

It was then that he finally appeared, a blur of movement that settled lightly on the remains of the well, white cloth fluttering in the wind but never revealing whether what lay beneath was truly Naraku, or one of his puppets.

Clawed fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword, sliding it in a fluid, practiced motion from its sheath as the old, battered sword transformed into the deadly fang he was used to.

Only the fact that the demon was on the well stayed his blade, the brief worry that he would destroy what was left of the well and the bigger worry he would sat until his back broke by Kagome if he actually did destroy the well keeping his temper in check.

"What do you want Naraku!"

There was no hesitation, no pause before his answer. One single word, one name that chilled the half demon to the very bone, especially hearing it said from that demons mouth.

"Kagome."

He said it so…simply. As if there was no other possible reason he was there except for her. Instinctively, on hearing her name, he glanced down at her where she still sat. He couldn't really tell whether she was staring at the destroyed well, or at the demon on top of it, but whichever it was she was staring, unblinkingly ahead, tuned out to the rest of the world.

It had better be the well.

Jerking his gaze back to Naraku, more than ready to slice him with Tetsusaiga until he was nothing more than bloody chunks of flesh, he blinked when there was nothing there.

He waited, ears swiveling about on top of his head, again searching for a noise, any noise to drown out his furiously beating heart.

Finally, he sheathed Tetsusaiga, satisfied that Naraku had turned tail and run. The moron probably, only came in the first place to mess with their heads…and destroy the well.

Kneeling next to Kagome and gently shaking her shoulder to jerk her out of the daze she was in, he never saw the blur of white as Naraku appeared behind him…

* * *

He noted with no small amount of glee as the tentacle burst through the hanyou's gut, missing Kagome by mere inches, that while the spell did, indeed, keep him from harming humans, half demons were a different matter entirely. 

True, there was a slight headache as he retracted the now bloody, interwoven mixture of brown vines back into his arm, but that was easily shrugged off. Having everything except your head disintegrated by a purifying arrow was far more painful.

The dog demon fell to the ground, a pained moan slipping from his lips that, interestingly enough, jerked Kagome from the daze of seeing the well in such a state, back to reality.

"Snarls and yells from him right next to you barely even phase you, and a simple, pained moan snaps you out of it…He just doesn't get hurt enough I suppose."

Chocolate brown orbs twisted from the motionless form of Inuyasha to him, staring accusingly at him while at the same time, shimmering with traces of confusion.

Ah, she thought he was a puppet…It would explain why Inuyasha had been so easily disposed of, and also why he showed no pain in doing so.

He pulled the mask away, leaving it to dangle against his back for the moment as he silently relished the look of sudden surprise rippling over her face.

He moved closer, steps smooth and soundless on the ground, and she shrank back, not even stopping when she was backed against a tree, as if trying to break through it.

He paused when he was next to the half demon, one pale hand snaking out and tangling into the silvery white locks, yanking violently upwards until the unconscious hanyou was face to face with him.

A quick glance back at the miko, his miko, proved that every drop of her attention was on him, as it should be.

Nails turned to claws and in one swift motion bloody scratches appeared over the hanyou's face, five identical wounds trailing from cheekbone to jaw, crimson spilling over the dogs face.

"Inuyasha!"

Another twitch of his claws and a sleeve of that disgusting fire rat robe fell away, white piercing through flesh and muscle and nicking the bone just before something collided heavily into his arm, knocking the half demon from his grasp and he turned from his work to stare down at the miko who had dared interrupt him.

"Stop it!"

He ignored her and reached down to pick the hanyou up again and continue when two arms slid around his, physically preventing him from continuing. Crimson turned on brown, something dangerous flickering in his glare as he gazed at the girl.

She faltered, eyes slipping between him and the hanyou, before finally remaining on him. He could hear her heartbeat pounding, the tiny organ furiously beating against the cage of her chest as she swallowed nervously.

"Don't you dare hurt him! I won't let you harm Inuyasha!"

He smirked at the realization that now, back to the way he was used to acting, to the cruel cold demon that she was used to fighting, she feared him. And she was so much easier to figure out when she was afraid.

"You love him."

She blinked, her grip on his arm loosening in surprise, and he had to wonder if maybe today had been too much for the poor girl…

"W-what? No!"

His slipped his arm easily out of her loosened grip, twisting so that he held her jaw between his fingers. Just tight enough to keep her close, to stare into her eyes until he could see the easily manipulated emotions behind them.

"If you didn't love him, then you wouldn't have gone to such an extent to keep me from hurting him."

She fidgeted slightly, her head twisting as she tried to get away, or at least continue shaking her head in denial.

"I protect all my friends! No matter what!"

He leaned close so he was just next to her ear, his breath sliding over the flesh as he whispered.

"You can't save him Kagome…he will die no matter what you do."

His fingers vanished from where they rested against her jaw, and as he stepped back, miasma slithering around him as he prepared to leave, he saw the beginnings of pure desperation in her eyes.

* * *

Alright…I know that Kagome simply freaking out to that extent upon finding the well shattered seems slightly OOC…but I have a reason! The well is the only way she gets back to her home, her time, and without she's stuck in the Feudal Era. 

While she may want to do that much, much later, if only to stay with Inuyasha, she'd still want to at least tell her family goodbye. They don't know if she's dead, the well stopped working, or is she forgot about them…

Why she didn't snap out of it when Naraku appeared was because she still believes that her spell is there, added to the fact that he hasn't been acting as evil lately…When he was able to harm Inuyasha, it either meant the spell had a flaw in it, stopped working altogether or just didn't protect half demons… Hope that explains it…


	11. Recovering

Okay…from all the stories I've read, Kohaku's giant scythe thingy is called a Kusarigama. If that's not right though, tell me, kay? Also…I'm so sorry this upload took so long! My muses have been so mean to me… TTTT

**Box** **Queen**: It's probably better if people tell me to update all the time…and possibly threaten me. Usually I'm very, very bad at finishing any story…

**Child** **of** **the** **Ashes**: lol. Don't you just hate those typos? Inuyasha really can't die…after all, Kagome would totally kill Naraku for doing so. Plus, I remember seeing one of Muso's tentacle things go through Inuyasha's neck once in an episode…so it'd take more than that to kill him. Finally, my writing probably has improved because I've been reading over my chapters and trying to put in more detail…or maybe it's just luck. Who knows?

**Kags** **21**: Glad you liked it! You will see very soon….

**Miko**-**Day**-**dreamer**-**3173**-: I liked Igor Lollipop better…it wasn't so long…I was scared that Kagome going in shock like that, even for a few minutes, was too out of character…I haven't gotten any flames yet though, so I guess it's okay.

And I won't let Inuyasha die. I've, amazingly, got plans for him…Cue evil laughter.

**spiret** **of** **fire**: You got it.

Disclaimer: And so I hath protested…I do not own Inuyasha…

* * *

Kohaku turned suddenly, staring back the way he had came in a mixture of disgust, hatred, and amazement. He had come to greet Sango and Kirara, as he hadn't seen them in many days now.

He'd also wanted to see Kagome too, but had heard she was leaving to go to the well to flee Naraku. Hearing that, he was already interested and keeping his guard up but now…

His hand twitched instinctively to his Kusarigama, unhooking it from its resting place near his waist. And this, of course, attracted Sango's attention.

"Kohaku?"

He wrapped the chain twice around his wrist, and jerked his head towards the direction of the well, silently mouthing the one word that would immediately make her understand.

Her brown eyes widened, then narrowed, her own hand hefting Hiraikotsu higher onto her shoulder in response to that one, single word.

* * *

She had never changed out of her Tajiya uniform, she'd never gotten the chance to. So she was perfectly ready for a battle. She spared a single, worried glance at Miroku, who was eyeing the siblings curiously, watching their silent exchange of words.

She debated telling the monk Kohaku's hunch…if it could be called that. Her little brother had an odd bond with the once hanyou, possibly from being near him for so long, to her everlasting guilt. Or maybe from the Shikon shard, tainted with Naraku's malice, that had been embedded in her younger brothers flesh.

He knew, really truly knew, when Naraku was near. It reminded her, oddly enough, of Kagome's ability to sense the jewel shards, which scared her even more.

In the end though, she decided not to tell him, offering him the briefest of smiles instead.

"We'll be right back…We just have to check something out."

There was a flicker of doubt in his eyes that she instantly noticed, but it vanished as soon as it came and he answered her with a smile as well, though his was warmer, and lingered on his lips.

"Of course Sango. I'll wait for you back at the village."

She waited until he had vanished from sight until she turned to Kohaku, ignoring his questioning look.

"Let's go Kohaku. Kagome might be in danger."

With a brief nod, he tightened his grip on the Kusarigama, his silent, though deadly hatred almost visible as he turned towards the forest.

"Yes Sango."

* * *

It was Kohaku who had prevented her from swinging Hiraikotsu the minute she saw Naraku, his small hand clamping down on her arm with surprising strength.

It was Kohaku who stifled the gasp that sprang from her throat when Inuyasha fell to the ground from Naraku's attack, giving reason to the doubts of just whose side he really was on…

And it was Kohaku who had allowed them both a glimpse of the exchange between their most hated enemy, and their best friend. Of the way Naraku had once more twisted the strings so that, no matter what, he would always, always win.

"…Kagome?"

The schoolgirl lifted her head at the sound of her name, something small and forced creeping to her lips that, if you didn't know her at all, could be called a smile.

"Yes, Kohaku?"

He paused, eyes darting between her and the fallen hanyou, who Sango was beginning to hoist over her shoulder without too much effort.

"Are you…okay?"

She didn't follow his gaze to Inuyasha, instead glancing back towards the shattered well.

"I'm fine Kohaku…How is …Inuyasha?"

Another glance at his sister, and a short nod, confirmed his silent question, spoken in a way he didn't quite understand…

"He's…alive."

Silence greeted his ears after his reply, no further questions coming from the miko. Because she wasn't really a schoolgirl anymore with the well gone…

And so he stood, one small hand curling tightly around Kagome's and pulling her gently to her feet, despite her weak protests. And he never let go of her hand even when they went back to the village and were met with the villagers stares at Inuyasha, hoisted over Sango's shoulder instead of Hiraikotsu, and the questions of Kaede and Miroku at 'what happened' and 'why was Inuyasha injured?'. He silently led her past them all, into Kaede's hut, to the darkest corner, and only then did he release his firm grip on her hand. Because he knew that knowing you'll never see your home again, was painful. Or after seeing someone you loved injured, and being partly responsible for them being hurt, was even worse.

But he didn't try to comfort her either when she curled into a ball, pressed into the shadowy wooden corner. Because he understood…

He understood that better than anybody.

* * *

"Would you stop moping around already! It's not like I _died_."

Snow white ears twitched, awaiting the sound of an argument, a protest…anything. No sound came from the once schoolgirl in front of him. So he continued ranting.

"Kaede said that the well could be rebuilt. So stop sitting around feeling sorry for yourself!"

"…Sit."

As ordered, he immediately plummeted face first into the ground, only a slight grunt of pain sounding instead of the usual cursing and muttering. And when he lifted his head, expecting to see the solemn, almost bored looking girl staring down at him, he was surprised to see a flash of anger in her eyes.

"I am NOT sitting around just feeling sorry for myself! In case you hadn't noticed, I've been working nonstop trying to find Naraku!"

With a well hidden smirk he pushed himself to his face, hiding the wince of pain at the action even better. It had only been a few days since Naraku's last appearance… And Kagome started looking far too much like Kikyou for his taste.

"Feh. Could've fooled me."

Something hard collided with the back of his head, his hand instantly flying to the spot as he whirled around to stare at Kagome once more, only now she was missing a shoe.

He blinked, staring down at the 'weapon' used against his head only moments before, stooping for a second to pick up the seemingly innocent thing.

"Give me back my shoe, Inuyasha!"

If he wasn't for his pride, he would have grinned at her. Instead, he tucked the shoe away into his haori, his lips threatening to pull into a smile instead of his usual frown.

"Nah. I think I'll keep it."

He could almost feel the waves of annoyance rolling off the girl behind him as he began walking once more, silently waiting for the 'sit' he knew would come. Instead, he felt something else collide with his head, this time catching the shoe as it fell to the ground.

Kagome stormed past him, now completely barefoot, with her head held high, not even sparing him a glare for his childish antics. Though he did catch her shooting an annoyed glance at him when he tucked the second shoe next to the first.

* * *

Yeah…that last bit was sorta pointless I guess… Though it proves that Inuyasha IS alive. You guys won't let me kill off a single person will you? Sorry it took so long though… The next chapter will be longer. Promise. 


	12. Advantage

Hello! I'm in a good mood today. Somehow. Has anyone ever watched Gunslinger Girl? T'was awesome…

**Box** **Queen**: Really? Yay! Someone would let me kill dear Inu! Though he's not always a buffoon… Just a lot of the time. I've never actually gotten threatened really…not like "post the next chapter or I'll kill everyone you know!". Of course, if I did, it'd be a little freaky…o.o

**Miko-Day-dreamer-3173-**: I like the name! It's just long…and I'm lazy. I'm glad that Kagome doesn't seem ooc… I swear, I'm paranoid about that…

o.o scary….

**Child** **of** **the** **Ashes**: I'm glad you liked it! Along with it being a filler chapter…sort of, I actually gave a point of view to someone different than Kagome, Inuyasha, or Naraku. I like filler episodes too, but I don't think I've really seen them much in fanfiction stories…or if I have I can't remember…

Disclaimer: …I'm running out of witty ways to say Inuyasha doesn't belong to me….

* * *

It was the first time in weeks she was actually able to get some time alone…Sango followed her to the hot springs, Inuyasha followed her whenever she went to the well to see its progress in being rebuilt, Shippo always went with her went she searched for herbs in the forest… And Miroku was constantly trying to help her with her miko powers. As much as she loved them all, trying to spend equal time with all of them was tiring…

But she had managed to finally slip away long enough to breathe in the fresh, crisp air, and lean against a thick old tree without the feeling of eyes watching her.

It was refreshing…to simply have some time alone to herself.

And so, as her friends began to relax as the appearances of Naraku came less and less, she was able to slip away more easily each time, and take five or ten minutes to simply rest in the cool shade of the trees.

She knew it was dangerous to slip away from the safety of her friends, if only to experience a few minutes of freedom, but she couldn't help it. And Naraku hadn't shown up for a long time now, and she was able to easily destroy any other demons that may appear…

But, of course, she knew it was only a matter of time until either Naraku showed up and her friends were once again on high alert…or her friends realized that she was vanishing for steadily growing amounts of time.

So she wasn't altogether surprised when one of those two happened…though it was, preferably, the easier one to deal with.

When that dark haired jerk reached for her, her name sprouting on his lips in a greeting, in a flash of pure miko power…or possibly just anger, his arm simply vanished in a burst of brilliant purple flames, earning her only a glimpse of an armless Naraku before the appendage simply grew back in the place of the quickly severed one.

"Aren't you happy to see me, Kagome?"

A step back and a strung arrow pointed directly at his heart should have given him an answer…though she decided to enlighten him anyway.

"Stay away from me…"

Okay…that wasn't _quite _what she wanted to say…though it did seem to work just as well. And by that, she meant that it had gotten him to pause for a grand total of three seconds before he continued walking towards her.

"The well is being rebuilt, and Inuyasha was fine. Holding a grudge is rather useless, isn't it Kagome?"

With a wicked sense of satisfaction, she watched him just barely avoid the arrow shot at almost point blank range, the stream of purification energy left behind just barely scorching his sleeve.

"You threatened Inuyasha's life…and no one will ever be safe with you around. You're going to die Naraku, even if it takes my life as well."

* * *

She was bluffing. He knew she was bluffing. There was no way dear little Kagome could actually kill the very thing that kept her here. Without him, their little group of friends wouldn't exist, Kikyou would be with Inuyasha, and she would be thrown back into that little well of hers.

So, with a smug smirk, he paused long enough to spread his arms out until he was simply a target, eyes daring her to shoot him. Except…he realized too late that Kagome possibly didn't realize that he was the only thing standing between her, and returning to her old, boring life. The one without Inuyasha, or her real friends, or the Feudal Era.

This time, he wasn't able to dodge the arrow she shot at him…at least not completely. It wasn't just his arm that was destroyed…it was the entire right half of his body. And that could be healed in a matter of moments of course, but the problem was, Kagome wasn't going to give him a matter of moments.

With a speed that rivaled Kikyou's, an arrow was on the string and stretched backwards, pausing only long enough to pull it all the way back until even without the miko power it would definitely hurt.

Only a few moments until his body healed enough for him to be able to dodge any attack of hers…and only half a second until she would loose the arrow and destroy him.

In a swift blur of motion he attacked, a movement so fast he doubted that Kagome even realized she had been attacked until she tried to loose her deadly arrow…and her bow fell apart, sliced into four equal pieces.

"W-what happened!"

Naraku flexed his newly made arm, testing it to make sure all the muscles and bones were properly working. And it's strength…

He had underestimated the assumedly sweet Kagome. That wouldn't happen again…ever. And he would make sure of that.

"Weapons are a nuisance. You shouldn't need them. Besides, I didn't come here to fight, I came here to… warn you, Kagome."

All her courage, and heroic words seemed to vanish on the wind, along with the sliced pieces of her bow. He was right…again…she _shouldn't_ need weapons to focus her miko powers…but she did. And without a weapon…she couldn't really kill him, now could she?

Taking her silence as a cue to continue, or simply continuing with or without her approval, his words rushed out with false warmth and worry, just the right amount of traces of concern laced among them.

"Your friends _will _turn against you Kagome…Be sure to watch them carefully."

She simply glared in return, biting down fiercely on her tongue to stop the angry words from slipping out. Her friends weren't the ones who had slaughtered millions of people! Her friends didn't toy with innocent lives like puppet masters! Her friends were the ones trying to protect her, and the only one she _should _be wary of was the man in front of her.

"I trust my friends more than I trust you at least!"

…dang…one of them slipped out…

Though that didn't seem to bother him much either way. He didn't even bother to answer her! He simply looked smugly at her, turned, and began walking away. Walking! That jerk didn't even need to walk! He could just vanish at will. He was doing it _purposely_ to annoy her!

And it really was annoying her…in fact, everything about the once hanyou annoyed her…even when she purified half of his body, only moments later he had the nerve to turn his back on her!

"…I _will _kill you Naraku! No matter what it takes, I'm not going to stop until you're dead!"

He paused, a slow, wicked smile curving his lips. This was the smile that Kagura had come to fear above all else, but it was more than just that…because now, he had the advantage.

"…Of course you will Kagome."

The tone in his voice…she stepped forwards, yanking an arrow out of the quiver on her back, despite not having a bow. She fully intended to stab him to death at this moment and would have too…if it hadn't been for the scream.

* * *

It was a piercing scream, one that echoed from neither her lungs, and definitely not from Naraku. And it wasn't the fact that it sent chills down her spine to listen to it, or the fact that it seemed to come from the village. No…what scared her was…she knew that scream, and she'd never, ever heard the owner sound that much in pain.

"Inu…yasha?"

* * *

Hmm…It seems…short. But, it also seems like it's time to finally upload another chapter. Honestly, at this rate it's gonna be 32 Chapters long before I finally end it… And why did I only get three reviews? Aw well…better than nothing. 


	13. Discussion

Now, you may notice some very…odd…things happening. The next couple chapters may make you think the characters are either crazy, or OOC. They're not either. Just, deal with me, okay? And I'd love to hear any theories on what Naraku's advantage is! And it's not his ability to injure Inuyasha…just to let you know.

Oh and…forgive me. Kaede talks weird, and I'm not sure how to type out that type of speech.

**Heavenly** **Faye**-**Faye**: I really do need to make my chapters longer… though this one should be at least longer than 1500 words. Inuyasha screaming like a little girl… I can actually imagine that! The poor guy…

**vampiric** **sesshomaru** **gurl**: I'm glad you liked it!

**Child** **of** **the** **Ashes**: Well, I'm trying to keeping the characters IC… and so, Naraku has returned to being main enemy number one, despite his slight handicap. That means Kagome has returned to her position as the only person who can actually –harm- Naraku.

Plus I love her temper, just so many possibilities…

**sesshomarunaraku**: Wow…short review.

**AmberEyezBright**: I was wondering when someone was going to notice… Yeah, this story was based off of that one part in Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but, short from killing Kagome and making Sesshoumaru revive her, I can't complete copy that part in the series.

**Box** **Queen**: It…was? Well, if you thought that was intense, wait for the next couple of chapters!

**Mr** **helper** **monkey**: Sweet! Constructive criticism! Seriously though, thanks. I wasn't sure whether I was making him too soft or what… though it should change pretty soon. Thank you!

**Igor** **Lollipop**: Wheee! Much easier to write! Wow…really? Thanks… Though I've honestly seen far better Kagome's than mine. And some that are downright scary. o.O

**Higake** **Dragon**: You got it!

Disclaimer: I refuse to admit anything!

* * *

She'd only heard Inuyasha scream a few times… and only when he was in immense pain. So it was only natural that she immediately began running to where she'd heard that scream come from, brushing past Naraku hurriedly in the process.

She was still holding the arrow of course, the slim wooden shaft clutched tightly in her fingers, to the point where it was almost about to break, a pinprick of light growing at the tip.

So, when she burst into a small clearing, her chocolate brown gaze sweeping around wildly for an enemy, miko charged arrow raised as a weapon… she was a little more than surprised when she found nothing.

And not nothing, like there was no Inuyasha or enemy, and that there were signs of a battle. Which would lead her to believe he was kidnapped or something. No…Inuyasha was there, without a scratch on him, sitting at the base of a rather dead looking tree.

In fact, he almost looked healthier than usual…

"Inu…yasha?"

Golden orbs met brown, and a wave of relief shot through her, though it didn't last long. Something…wasn't right. Why had Inuyasha yelled if nothing was happening? Why was she the only one who came to investigate? Surely the others must have heard it too…

"What's up Kagome?"

At his voice, she relaxed, the arrow she was holding dropping to the ground harmlessly. There weren't any enemies here, just Inuyasha. Of course, now she was feeling pretty stupid for bursting into a clearing searching for a demon that wasn't there.

"Oh…umm….I….thought…you were in trouble?"

Oh yeah. Great explanation. Now he was going to yell at her for being an idiot and running, alone, into the woods to 'save' him. Of course Inuyasha could take care of himself! He had the Tetsusaiga, didn't he?

But…the insults never came. It was still a typical Inuyasha response, but he wasn't insulting her.

"Well, I'm not. Now we'd better get back to the village. The old hag will send a search party if we're not back by sundown."

Well, he was insulting Kaede, so maybe he wasn't sick after all. Maybe…he was just being nice.

So, she pushed all the weird little things to the back of her mind, purposely forgetting to ask him why he yelled, and where the others were, and why he was sitting alone in the forest.

After all, this _was_ Inuyasha...maybe Kikyou had just dropped by? And…her soul stealers had bit him or something…

* * *

Oddly enough, when she and Inuyasha finally made it back to the village, Kaede practically leaped out of her hut, something very weird for a woman who was over fifty years old. Of course, they had been gone awhile, but Kaede had never seemed so eager to see them before. Or talk to them, especially since they hadn't really been gone _that _long.

"Ah! Ye are back! Kagome, I must speak with ye."

And…was she imagining it, or did Kaede seem…nervous? In, an almost paranoid fashion, her single eye glancing between her and Inuyasha searchingly.

Following the elder woman's gaze, she stared up at Inuyasha confusedly, stepping towards Kaede slowly.

"What about?"

Kaede must have seen something, or she was really imagining things, because mistrust gleamed in her single eye as she tugged urgently on Kagome's wrist, her grip surprisingly tight.

"Not here Child…"

The old woman was almost dragging her away, her gaze everywhere and nowhere at once. It was…eerie. And it was beginning to scare her. Kaede never acted this way… Like there was an enemy around every corner.

In fact, when Miroku actually slipped out from behind a corner, the old priestess jumped. Literally.

Shaking off the paranoia beginning to consume her, she smiled at the monk, almost relieved to see him as calm and collected as always. Everyone else was acting so…weird. First Inuyasha just…sitting there in the forest, now Kaede acting completely paranoid…

"Miroku! Kaede just wanted to talk to me…want to join us?"

He returned her smile, though his was more apologetic than friendly.

"I'm very sorry Kagome… but I have to speak to Kaede. It will only take a moment, I promise."

Before she could protest the monk had dragged the older priestess around the corner from where he had first appeared, leaving her standing there blinking confusedly.

"Um…Okay…?"

* * *

It was barely five minutes later, by her rough estimate, when Kaede reappeared, Miroku walking respectfully behind her. Thankfully, the old priestess looked considerably less paranoid now. Miroku must have said something to calm her down.

Speaking of the monk, he nodded towards her, words trickling from his lips in an almost distracted manner…

"I apologize for taking so long Kagome…I'll leave you and Kaede to speak then."

He bowed low to the ground, the rings on his staff striking against each other as he did so, fading gradually as we walked off. Slowly this time, instead of dashing around a corner mysteriously.

Turning to Kaede she smiled politely, waiting for a moment for a moment for her to talk before actually asking.

"What was it that you wanted to talk to me about, Kaede?"

The old woman blinked owlishly up at her, remaining silent for a good couple seconds before actually responding to the question.

"Ah…it was nothing. Forget all about it Kagome."

She faltered, rather confused to the reason why Kaede would try so hard to get her alone to speak to her, to wave her off now that they _were_ actually alone. This really didn't make any sense…

"But…"

Kaede cut her off before she could say anything more, flicking her hand towards the well hurriedly, as though trying to shoo her off.

"The well is about halfway done. Ye should be able to return home soon. That was all, Kagome."

"That's great! But… I don't see why we couldn't talk of that in front of Inuyasha…"

The older woman frowned at her, and almost immediately she got the feeling what she said was extremely stupid somehow.

" 'Twas destroyed once, and it might be again Kagome. Now then…I have more important matters to attend to."

Turning abruptly, without even a goodbye, or bothering to explain in further detail _why _Inuyasha couldn't listen at the edge of the village, with only him around, but it was perfectly alright to talk about it in the middle of the village, she simply left.

* * *

This…chapter…stinks. Honestly, it does. It's unorganized, everyone's popping in and out and random, and I think my muse is fading for this story… Hopefully not. I'm sorry it took so long though. It was just a struggle to get this chapter done, and…I was kinda on vacation.

Also, since I don't want to have this story a million chapters long, which by this point is how it's looking to turn out, I'm planning on stopping it in the next few chapters and continuing it on a different story…thing. Like a sequel, sort of. Problem is, I despise stories where you have to have read the first story for it to make any sense.

If you have any ideas on this one, please tell me!


	14. Demon

Hello! Guess what? My computer died. Completely. I couldn't get on the internet, or even the file I use to type my stories. Isn't that great? Thankfully, we were able to get transfer the internet onto a laptop. But all my story that I'd written so far...is gone. An entire chapter, locked away on a computer that's basically infected with some virus. So forgive me for the horribly long wait. On a side note...does anyone know how old Kohaku is? I think he's only a couple years younger than Kagome... And I think I'm accidentally putting romance between the two...or a really weird type of friendship Sweatdrop 

"Talking"  
_'thinking'  
_(Random Author notes. Probably won't see a lot of these.)

Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, I'd be rich! Which would mean I wouldn't have to wait for almost a year until there's enough money to fix my old comp.

**vampiric sesshomaru gurl: **Well...I would. But that's been done a lot...plus, Kagura's still somewhat dead. She might go nuts if she's brought back to life.

**Box Queen: **So...short...I can't think of a proper response other than denial...

**Heavenly Faye-Faye: **snickers I'm glad you thought it was funny... though there's actually a legitimate reason why Kaede was paranoid. ...There's a conspiracy... shifty eyes

**Igor Lollipop:**I practically died reading the first part of the review TT.TT You're mean...

**kitta: **Er...yeah. Kagome's pretty powerful. And she IS in love with Inuyasha still...It wouldn't be right to just leap into her enemy's arms.

**Akira Shinaichi: **Eh...? Didn't it say it was Inuyasha's in the last chapter?

* * *

Inuyasha was working on the well constantly. Miroku and Sango were...around. Sometimes they helped Inuyasha, other times the villagers. Or they would visit their once homes, Master Mushin for Miroku, and the abandoned Demon Slayer village for Sango. Kilala and Shippo played together constantly. And Kaede was just 'busy'. They'd gone from almost overbearingly protective of her, to absolutely never around. Not that she minded of course. It wasn't as though they were avoiding her. And when they did happen to run into each other everything was normal. And yet, somehow, she felt somewhat...useless. She wasn't strong enough to build or fix things. She couldn't go home with the well broken. The only thing she was learning about were different herbs and their uses from Kaede, those studies taking the place of her modern day homework. So...she left. She didn't run away or anything stupid like that. There were reports of a demon attacking a nearby village, and it was so close, and she could be useful. So she'd muttered offhandedly about it to Inuyasha the next time they bumped into each other. He'd blinked once at her, shrugged, and wished her well. Actually, he'd just said 'See you later then', but that was basically the same thing. What was weird though, was that he didn't freak out about it. He threw a hissy fit whenever she went home, to where it was reasonably safe, and she was going a couple miles away, alone, to fight a demon and he was okay with it?

' I wonder if he's seen Kikyou recently... that might explain things...'

She chewed worriedly on her lower lip, attracting the attention of her one and only companion. Kohaku. He was the only person not busy enough to come with her, as well as the only person who'd be useful if the demon was too strong for her. She blinked down at the younger boy and he promptly looked back at the road, as though he'd never glanced at her to begin with. She sometimes wondered though...how much did Kohaku remember? Did he really want to be alive? Was he ever frightened by the thought of death, despite having already died once? Naraku hadn't sent demons to kill him lately, another piece of his weird behavior. He'd done another vanishing act too, so she couldn't actually ask him about it.

"Kagome...we're here."

She snapped out of her thoughts, lifting her head to see that, they were indeed at the village. A crowd of villagers had accumulated at the edge of little town, mistrustful and suspicious looks reflecting on each of their faces. None of them were carrying weapons though, at least none that she could see, so she continued walking until they were only mere feet away. She smiled in what she hoped was a friend, NOT nervous at all, way, and opened her mouth to speak.

"Go away!"

"We have no money to pay you for your work!"

"Leave us alone already you swindlers!"

She blinked at the villagers, taking a step backwards in surprise. Swindler? That was more Miroku's work actually. Shaking off her concern at the villagers reactions she smiled once more, trying to look completely and totally innocent.

"We don't want any money... we're just here to get rid of the demon and be on our way."

It was obvious from their expressions that they didn't believe her, murmurs and questions rippling through the crowd like water. Finally, a young man stepped forward, his gaze intense and soul searching as he glanced between her and Kohaku.

"Why do you want to slay this demon? How does this benefit you?"

She sweatdropped, guessing that they wouldn't believe she was just doing this to be nice. She searched furiously for an answer, snapped out of her thoughts once more when Kohaku simply stepped forwards, his young, monotone voice cutting through the murmurs effortlessly.

"Me and my companion have been tracking this demon for some time. It attacked one of our friends. Do not interfere with our work."

The villagers still looked suspicious, but Kohaku had the ability to basically freak out almost everybody even slightly human around him. The Kusarigama fastened to his lower back, flashing in the sunlight, would only further increase their reluctance to go against his...demand. Quickly, she stepped forwards to draw attention to herself once more, friendly smile ever present on her face. Maybe dying the bottoms of her preistess robes red would've helped. Certainly rumors of Kikyou would've spread to this village, and they might be more eager to help a famous preistess than just her and Kohaku.

"Now, if you don't mind, could you show us where the demon is? Or at least tell us when it comes around?"

The young man from before stepped forwards again, pointing to a dark, creepy looking forest bordering on the village.

'of course...it's always a creepy old forest...'

"The demon's lair is inside that forest. Beware, for it is very powerful."

It was once more Kohaku who responded, easily slipping into the role of intimidating, scary kid.

"We'll be fine. Right, Kagome?"

She blinked down at him, caught somewhat off guard by the tiny, barely perceptible smile dancing along his lips.

"O-Of course Kohaku. I'm sure it's not that strong."

* * *

She watched Kohaku slam into the tree with a sickening crunch, the boy crumpling to a motionless heap on the ground. There was no time to call his name, to rush over and see if he was alright. She jerked to the side, barely avoiding the same fate as Kohaku, and notched another arrow. Spikes curved out of furred skin, bladed tail whipping back and forth and slicing cleanly through another row of trees, each one large enough to hide two or three people. Wicked fangs dripped acid, only adding to walking deathtrap that was this demon. The arrow arched, pink light trailing behind it, and sank into the demons shoulder, a pained roar ripping through its throat from the purification.

She took advantage of its momentary distraction and ran towards Kohaku, hoping, praying, the boy was alright. He was only supposed to be backup, if the demon proved just powerful enough to be a possible threat. He was never supposed to get hurt, and if he died...she would never be able to live with herself.

In her haste to make sure Kohaku was still alive, she didn't notice that the demon had recovered from its minor injury, didn't notice the paw until it had collided with her frail body, sending her flying in one direction and her only weapon in the other, where it was promptly smashed. It wasn't 'lucky' that she didn't hit a tree like Kohaku. 'Lucky' would be Inuyasha coming out of nowhere and slaying the demon in a few seconds, like he so often did. 'Lucky' would be her sometimes less than reliable powers shooting forth and vaporizing the object of her momentary terror. No. She wasn't lucky at all. The fact that she wasn't knocked unconscious was very unlucky, in fact.

And yet...out of the corner of her eye she watched the creature burst into beautiful sapphire flames, arching higher and higher, yet never lighting the trees above. Or perhaps that fall had given her a concussion...? Either way, it was very pretty, and strangely satisfying to see the thing die in a such a painful way. Slowly, she pushed herself to her knees, not even attempting to stand just yet. She almost missed the tiny form of the person who had saved her life, only the shock of red hair catching her eye. When she turned to get a better look though, she was sure that she really had hit her head on something.

"Shippo?"


	15. I Hate You

This chapter...is short. But oh so wonderful...I have fallen in love with it. There is also no author notes or anything at the bottom, because that would ruin it. So...read, review, and PLEASE don't hate me. 

**Kagome077**: Yeah, I know. Which is what made it so amazingly perfect! Ah, an...this is a Naraku/Kagome. I've been lacking in the relationship stuff though...

**Akira Shinaichi**: Sorry. I'm no good at writing out the romance parts, so it's been somewhat lacking. There should be more this chapter though! hasn't written it yet so can't be sure They've got a mind of their own, they do.

**Raja crimson hunter**: Well, I should be stuck on this laptop for awhile, so, unless I catch another virus, everything should be going back to normal. Except, I'm still lazy with too much stuff to do. So the updates might be a tad slow...

**anime kagome angel**: Thanks!

**Igor Lollipop**: munches happily on the cookie Yes. Shippo. And Kohaku will be just fine. He and Kagome are the bestest little friends now, after all! . grins and plots for Naraku to find a way to exploit their friendship

Disclaimer: Duh.

* * *

"Shippo?"

The little fox demon jumped, staring at her with such wide green eyes it might've been amusing under different circumstances.

"Kagome! What're you doing here!"

Her eyes skittered between him, and the very dead, very burnt demon not so very far away. Since when could Shippo...?

"I came to destroy that. Which I was trying to do for a good hour, and then you killed it in all of three seconds."

He faltered under the unspoken accusation, fidgeting nervously beneath her 'mean' stare. Which was usually only reserved for Inuyasha. Or Miroku.

"I've..been...training with Inuyasha...?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly, pinning him beneath her gaze and only increasing his agitation. The lie was extremely weak, and even an idiot like Inuyasha could figure it out, and Kagome was far smarter than him...

He shrank in on himself, fidgeting and poking his fingers together nervously, his mumbled response just loud enough for Kagome to catch.

"What did you say Shippo...?"

He flinched at the confusion and betrayal in her voice, searching frantically for an excuse, and explanation, never seeing the weapon until it was far too late.

* * *

She screamed, her upper body lunging forwards, legs propelling backwards in horror, leaving her sprawled on the ground. Her eyes were trapped on the bloody sight of the fox kits headless body, the scruffy orange haired head landing a few feet away, emerald green eyes wide in fear.

"S-Shippo...?"

Tears rolled down her cheeks, dripping onto the backs of her hands as she tried to move towards the dead little fox, fiercely ignoring the hand that had somehow gripped itself on the back of her neck.

"Shippo? Shippo?"

The silvery metal blade thudded heavily into the tree beyond, blood dripping gruesomely into tiny blotches on the ground. She was stubborn in ignoring everything else except for her dead friend, the child who had been with them so long... only surpassed by Inuyasha. It wasn't fair...It wasn't fair! The thought stuck, repeated in her mind constantly, like a mantra, even as the hand against her elbow helped her shuddering body up.

Her gaze suddenly swung around to the person who -dared- keep her away from her dear Shippo, her flailing fists caught too easily. She wanted to hurt, to scream and pound anyone who came close. She went for the next best thing, chocolate brown eyes flaming next to the cool, calm crimson.

"It's your fault! You killed him! How could you! He was Shippo...My Shippo!"

Her emotions were in overdrive, one of her hands wresting free of the painfully tight grip, connecting hard with the smooth, pale cheek. Absently, she realized her powers were reacting to the overwhelming emotions coursing through her. The hands that tried to keep her under control were burned, the flaming red handprint burning into the flawless skin.

Despite the tremble of her voice, her words were crisp, pronounced painstakingly clear, something dark and horrible tugging against her, the words echoing this feeling that she only felt, and firmly stamped out, once before.

"I. Hate. You."

* * *

She was beautiful. Hatred tainted her voice, sweet, salty tears dripping off her nose and chin, and it hurt in such a lovely way to even be close to her. His hands burned, his cheek stung, and the smell of burnt flesh and coppery blood hung like a thick perfume in the air.

He crushed his lips against hers, the pain wonderfully similar to the explosion of heat and fire, the flames licking at his flesh, burning it to an unrecognizable shell. With Inuyasha, she would cry, and sob, and get over it. With the fox child, it was so much worse than that.

He pulled away, holding her struggling body against his, and pressed his lips against the crook of her neck, feeling her freeze at the truth that coated his words, and watched the game crumble to pieces around them both.

"I love you...Kagome..."

* * *


	16. Heart to Heart

I promised one of you dear readers that I would not kill off dear Kohaku ( You know who you are. And thanks for the cookie! ), so I went after Shippo-chan instead. All shall be revealed in this chapter... I hope. I never thought this story would be THIS long! Oh! Also, some of you might have had trouble finding this story because of the new summary. I hate the old summary. It's dumb. So I tried out something I've spotted being used by other authors. Don't worry, I'll switch it back. And if any of you couldn't find it... heh heh heh. Well, I'm very sorry for you. 

**Akana Akazan**: (In answer to last chapter ) I'm so sorry! I didn't put down a reply to your review last chapter! And it was such a good review too! I'm really glad you like my story, but there are definitely better one's out there. I'm absolutely positive that there is one pairing out there which is so obscure, that there are no bad stories at all ! ...I just have to find it first. All of your questions -should- be answered in this chapter. I write the reviews before the actual chapter, so I dunno for sure... The alternate world theory... is original, but not right. But Naraku does have something to do with it. He always does.

**Akana Akazan**: Well...if you kill Naraku that would kinda ruin the story... But you can torture one of his Golems!

**Igor Lollipop**: I actually don't kill off people... ever. So the chance that there will be another death would be slim to none. Except maybe Kagome...

**Velvet Shadow**: EXACTLY. Inuyasha dies. A lot. I mean, compared to Shippo...

Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha you could bet it would be shorter. A LOT shorter.

* * *

She clutched two things two her chust with her trembling hands. One, an unconscious, _alive _fox kit who she periodically hugs tightly, still not quite believing that what she saw was fake. The other, something small and precious, and she can't believe that all it took, after so long... After so many battles and deaths, meetings and deaths, travels and people. All it took, was a single promise that she could break so very easily. A breath... to steady her nerves. A useless effort. She glanced to her left, at her dazed companion, carefully keeping her eyes off the burnt corpse not too far away, and the headless corpse that's even closer.

"Ka...gome...?"

Instinctively she clutches the warm body closer, frantic, desperate apologies and half blurted explanations and excuses streaming from her lips

"I'm so sorry Shippo! If I'd known then- I would've done something! You know I would! I never would've left you, and I can't- I mean, I really wouldn't... The promise..."

Bleary, adorable green eyes simply blinked up at her confusedly, not comprehending what it was that she was saying. Or trying to say.

"Kagome... What are you talking about...? "

She finally pulled back far enough to be coherent, unfurling the fingers of her right hand where they clutched tightly around something small and pink.

He recoiled almost instantly from it, eyes wide and fear filled. And yet, the hushed question didn't come from him, but her other companion, his deep brown eyes focused unblinkingly on the vastly important object.

"Kagome...is that what I think it is?"

She nodded mutely, and pulled it back towards her, hiding it from view, exceedingly careful, as though it might shatter at the slightest touch.

Shippo wormed himself out of her grasp, returning to his usual perch on her shoulder with worried eyes.

"Inuyasha...will want to see this."

* * *

She's was surprised to see that ieveryonei was there. Not just Inuyasha and Miroku, Sango and Kirara. But _everyone_. Kouga glared distrustfully at Sesshoumaru, casting curious, suspicious looks at Kikyou every now and again. Jaken, and a tiny dot that she identified as Myoga, conversed with Ginta and Hakkaku. And Rin was babbling happily to Kaede. It was as though they were all...drawn there. They all looked up as she got closer, and she glanced once at Kikyou. Something unspoken passed between them, a conversation without words, and she thought she saw the tragic priestess shiver. It was Sesshoumaru that moved towards her first, looming over her like a silver shadow, silently commanding her to tell them what it was she was hiding. And fast. Unsurprisingly, Kouga came to her rescue. Followed by Inuyasha. And Jaken... and Kouga's friends... and Rin... And then she lost count.

"Hey! Stay away from my woman!"

"She's not YOUR woman, ya stupid wolf!"

"Don't talk to Lord Sesshoumaru like that you ingrates!"

" Hey! Our leader is way better than your 'Lord'!"

"Rin believes that no one is better than Lord Sesshoumaru!"

"Lord Inuyasha could beat you all to a pulp!"

"Hmph. Since when was my 'little brother' a lord?"

"Hey! Mutt face! The guy's your brother?"

Silence...and then a very reluctant...

"Yeah. What of it!"

"Why aren't you that pretty?"

From there it simply degenerated into mindless bickering. Well... even MORE mindless bickering... Their voices grew louder and louder, grating on her already frayed nerves. Louder and louder, stronger and stronger, her free hand raising up to press against her temple painfully.

The blast of energy that slammed forth, while weak, was enough that it reached out miles in every direction, forcibly shocking the demons in their group, and snatching the attention of anyone that could sense it.

Surprisingly...Kagome was just as surprised. And all eyes swiveled to Kikyou, the remnants of energy clinging to her and brushing away wisps of her dark hair from her moon pale skin.

"If you want to find out answers, then listen. Kagome seems to have them all."

She held back a blush at the sudden amount of attention, eyes of every color, with varying degrees of interest, trained on her. Instead of speaking, she decided to show what was clutched in her hand, understanding blooming in the eyes of almost everyone there. The only ones excluded were, of course, Hakkaku and Ginta.

"...What is it?"

She tried to shrink in on herself, faltering under the weight of the expectations of everyone around her, the somewhat grudging respect. The knowledge that with this she had completely graduated from merely "Inuyasha's Woman", into forever something more. And most of all... she struggled under what it meant, for Naraku to give this to her so willingly. And that scared her most of all.

"It's...Naraku's heart."

* * *

heh heh heh. I really had you going there didn't I? You all thought it was the Shikon no Tama! I will admit, that's what I _planned_. But who didn't see that coming a mile away? So I had to switch it. If you actually saw that coming... wow. I think I might hate you. 


	17. The Heart, Jewel, And Plan

Oh yeah...if I messed up any weapon names, other than Jaken's, please tell me. I honestly don't know what the name of his staff is. And a -tiny- little note about Naraku. I realized I haven't cleared it up yet. At the end, when he told her he loved her, he didn't mean it in the usual sense of the word. It was more along the lines of, I love what you've become. If that makes anymore sense... I mean, seriously? Can you imagine Naraku saying that to anyone? Ever? No matter what the circumstances? Oh and...sorry for the delay in updating. School and all. 

**Heavenly Faye-Faye**: heh heh, so you noticed... I enjoyed writing the 'conversation' between all of them. And I love little twists, like Kikyou's burst of power, instead of Kagome's. And Naraku's heart. It really is sweet... too bad most guy's can't do it without all that problematic dying.

**Akira Shinaichi**: YESS! uh... ahem. Sorry. But I love fooling people. Actually... my ending is already planned out for Naraku and Kagome (Finally!), but the rest of the pairings are undecided. I'm interested though, what changed your mind about Kikyou?

**sesshoumaruslovelymate**: Erm... voting stopped awhile ago...

**sesshoumaruslovelymate**: Sorry. It's been awhile since I wrote that chapter. I'll have to go back and see what you're talking about.

**islandqt**: People seem to like my Kagome for some reason I can't comprehend. At least she's not the villain. Then that would be really confusing.. Anyway, I'm glad you like the story and its pairing!

**sesshoumaruslovelymate**...**Again**.: Uh...well gosh. I don't know how I ever could have missed that! Are hearts lilac too? Because, you know, you're so perceptive and all.

**Akana Akazan**: I love the interactions between Kouga and Inuyasha. I could honestly just imagine dead silence after that comment, followed by "...He did NOT just say that..." And, yeah. The Shippo that killed the demon was a fake, like, a golem. Except in Shippo form, not Naraku form. The whole 'small pink heart' thing came about because I was trying to lead everyone to thinking it was the Shikon Jewel.

**Igor Lollipop**: Well... maybe I won't kill her... I don't like killing characters. Just putting them through unimaginable mental torture. Which is way better than death! totally not crazy...

**Aliccia**: I'm glad you liked it! The promise isn't really that amazing though...

**Saccharine Death**: Firstly, I love your name. It's so cool and mysterious... ahem. Eh? I didn't kill Naraku! I could never kill Naraku! Inuyasha and crew couldn't do it, and I'm not fangirlish enough to have such series defying powers... And I'm not heartless. Naraku is. Literally, now. Shippo (fake) got killed. Shippo (real) was given back to Kagome. The corpse was the fake shippo. And the demon he fried.

**LadieSesshy**: ...There's not much to comment on...

**X-Emerald-X**: Yeah..I'm having trouble with that lately...

**Disclaimer**: I'm almost done...thank god... Inu ain't mine... ect. ect.

* * *

Barely a moment after unveiling Naraku's heart for all to see, she was faced down with a weapon from everyone there. Except for the only four not weilding weapons. Hakkaku, Ginta, Rin and Myouga. No...wait...Myouga just disappeared. So she was left staring at Tokijin, Tetsusaiga, Hiraikotsu, Jaken's Staff of Heads, Miroku's staff, Kikyou's shimmering arrows, and a very large, very on fire Kirara. And her only protection seemed to be Shippo, Kohaku and Kouga.

_'...I'm doomed.'_

Shippo tugged on shirt to get her attention, not actually looking at her, but the many powerful, magical and non, weapons.

"Umm...Kagome? Maybe you should throw it into the air or something... Y'know...so we don't get killed in the crossfire?"

Kohaku's Kusarigama flashed as he raised it, his face blank as he stared at the onslaught of people, and she was reminded that he'd probably faced down odds even worse than these. Kouga...seemed to be hesitating. He was standing in front of her, but it was very obvious that he might last through one or two attacks, and then die, leaving her defenceless.

It was more than likely he was thinking of stealing her away, because that was probably the only way they would both survive. Before he could, Kohaku was speaking, somehow managing to raise his voice above the scrape of metal and the creak of wood.

"What if it's fake?"

She glanced between the younger demon slayer and the heart in the palm of her hand, wishing sorely that she could just drop it and leave it.

"Erm...it's beating Kohaku. Normally, disembodied organs don't do that..."

She caught a flash of red and white out of the corner of her eye, stepping backwards instinctively as the owner of those colors moved forwards to peer at the...thing. Despite how much less dangerous Kikyou seemed lately, it was still slightly hard to forget how many times she'd attacked by the woman.

"'The child has a point. Naraku may have given her a normal human heart, knowing how many people are after his life."

Pale fingers moved forwards to brush against the faintly beating organ, a strip of what looked suspiciously like purple lightning snapping against the preistess' hand. If it hurt the woman, she didn't show it, merely retracting her hand quickly.

"So? Is it real or not!"

A moment of hesitance, silence brushing over the crowd of people as they waited for the preistess' words. Realization spread slowly over her mind, and her own words slipped past those of the older, wiser woman standing near her.

"...Does it really matter? Even if we do kill Naraku using his heart... What about the Shikon Jewel? If we kill him, it would be lost once more. And if it's picked up by another demon we'll just be going through the same thing over again!"

All three of her protecters tensed, a shiver rolling down her own spine at the sudden swell of bloodlust radiating around her. It wasn't as though she'd _forgotten _that Naraku had made an enemy out of everyone here. Using Sesshoumaru, killing off Sango's family, cursing Miroku's ancestors, killing off Kouga's packmates, turning Inuyasha and Kikyou against one another... But she had hoped that they would realize this was all because of the Shikon Jewel. And if they didn't get that _and _kill off Naraku the cycle of death would continue. If not to them, to other innocent people.

"Look. Just...give me a couple days. I'll find Naraku, on the pretense of giving back this...organ. Steal the Shikon, and then kill him. That way he's dead, and no one has to risk their lives."

Oh. Wait. Every single person here, excluding Shippo, Rin, Jaken and Kouga's friends, wanted to kill Naraku personally. Their own health be damned.

"O-or...I'll knock him out somehow, drag him back here, and you can all kill him. I'm sure Sesshoumaru wouldn't mind reviving him a couple hundred times...?"

Hesitant murmurs swept through the crowd, the bloodlust ebbing away slowly. The fact that this plan relied on her, and, even more so on Sesshoumaru, seemed to be something that everyone was ignoring. She could certainly pull it off. And Sesshoumaru...well... he wanted Naraku as well so everything worked out fine. Unless of course she failed, or he didn't feel the need to have others rekill the deceitful spider.

Her wolf protecter relaxed, spinning around and clasping her hands with his.

"Are you sure you're up to this Kagome? You'll be going alone into Naraku's lair, with only our love to guide you ba- OWW!"

The rest of Kouga's heartfelt speech was cut off by the enraged hanyou standing behind him, everyone else simple ignoring this as 'normal'.

"What the hell do you think you're doing you mangy wolf! Kagome...er..."

As though realizing he had company he glanced nervously towards Kikyou, the preistess raising an elegant eyebrow in response. Hesitantly, he continued his rant.

"Kagome...you're...You were crushing her hands. That would have been terrible for this...er...mission. Yeah."

She tried to stifle the giggles, truly she did, but only ended up bursting out laughing instead, the fluffy white ears atop Inuyasha's head pressing down as if hurt by the sound.

"Shut up!"

Unnoticed among the ensuing arguing, one of the people slipped away, a flash of glass and silver sparking as what looked suspiciously like a mirror was hurriedly shoved into the folds of loose clothing.

* * *

Now, I could go " oooh! Someone's hiding something...but who!". But, I already know. Or I could -not- know and just be making this up as I go along like I've been doing the entire fic. But seriously, I actually know where this is going this time around. Prepare for the ending chapters of Naraku's Transformation! 


	18. Golem

Ooh...such nice guesses. Not like I expected anyone to guess right of course. But still, it was interesting listening to the theories.

Also, I'm rather confused about Kohaku and Shippo. Technically, Shippo should be a couple decades older than Kohaku. But Kohaku's physical body is older. So I'm not sure which one to refer to as 'older' or 'younger'. ...Ugh...

**Yasha'z Wifey Kyome**: Nope! Though that was a very good guess.

**Igor Lollipop**: Tell me! Tell me! I'll get new ideas! ...It's totally not too late for them! I missed you too! I think I might have lost all my readers on Reoccurences so it's nice to see people I know! o.o Really? Tenseiga can only revive someone once? ...I didn't know that at all...

**Akana Akazen**: You're right. They would notice Kanna. But Kohaku has gone out of his way to protect Kagome, almost taking the place of Inuyasha. If Naraku would want anyone to get close to her, he'd want it to be a pawn that could be easily exterminated. Kohaku was a crucial element in controlling Sango back when he was controlled. And even more so now that he remembers her.

**blackXheart**: ...I'm going, I'm going... It'll be updated soon...I'm promise...Z.z

**kitkatkitta**: Hmm? What're you confused about?

Disclaimer: Close...so very close...not mine.

XxX

Splinters of wood pressed against her back, clinging to her clothing as she shifted slightly. The well, finally, had been rebuilt. She didn't even try to entertain the thought of running away now. Her sense of loyalty to her friends was far too strong for such a cowardly action. Maybe someone less...kind...could do such a thing but...

With a fierce shake of her head she dispelled such thoughts, forcing her mind onto other tracks.

She couldn't actually kill Naraku... no matter how sarcastic his comments had been since she 'cursed' him, they still made him seem more human. Somehow. She'd feel guilty if she killed him. And even guiltier if she brought him back to be killed multiple times, probably in painful, bloody ways by each person.

She sighed, her blank gaze locked on the simple clay jar in front of her. If she really listened, she could hear the steady thump of the heart inside.

"What are you doin' Kagome?"

It took her a moment to notice the voice that had tried, and failed, to break through her thoughts, and gradually she became aware of the fox demon next to her, and the freckle faced boy hanging about in the shadows a little further away.

"Hmm? What are you doing here Shippo? I thought you were helping Kaede?"

He fidgeted slightly, that uncomfortable look and actions attracting her attention.

"Well...yeah. But she's been acting kinda weird lately. It might just be because Kikyou's wandering around the village but..."

He trailed off, Kohaku's soft voice filling in the sudden awkward silence.

"Kagome... When you do kill Naraku, what are you going to do with the Shikon?"

Shippo took advantage of her momentary silence to jump in, speaking as though the other boy was some kind of idiot.

"She'll make a wish of course!"

Brown eyes narrowed at the childish fox, Kohaku's voice growing louder.

"It has to be the -right- wish. Otherwise everything will just be repeated again with a different demon."

Filled with righteous fury on her behalf the fox boy stomped towards the older, taller hunter.

"You think that Kagome can't make the right wish!?"

She could see Kohaku struggling to keep hold on his calm expression, holding back annoyance at his verbal sparring partner.

"I'm saying she should think carefully about it before she makes the wish."

Suspicion crept into his eyes, that anger smothered for a moment.

"You _don't _think she can do it, do you?"

" I didn't- "

"LIAR!!"

In a blur of orange he tackled Kohaku to the ground, eliciting a gasp of shock from the suddenly worried miko.

"Sh-Shippo! What are you doing?!"

He didn't answer, too preoccupied with keeping out of reach of Kohaku, using his speed and small size to dart from his shoulder, to his leg, to his head, biting and scratching the whole way.

"Kohaku! Shippo! Stop it already and just sit down!!"

A startled yelp, the echoing sound of breaking branches, and a final loud thud came from somewhere behind her, distracting her from the suddenly quiet boys.

"Inu...yasha?"

She didn't see the exchange of looks between the boys behind her, too busy searching for the flash of telltale white and red. She did however hear the soft trade of words from Shippo to Kohaku.

"Is he gone?"

"...Yes."

Curiousity and suspicion flared unexpectedly, and she twisted to stare at the recently fighting boys, who now stood calmly next to one another.

"...What's going on?"

They traded glances nervously, Shippo fidgeting with a leaf, and Kohaku awkwardly glancing over his shoulder, as though Inuyasha would come flying out of the forest. With a deep breath Shippo stepped forwards, tucking the leaf into his vest.

"Kagome...maybe you haven't noticed but... everyone has been acting really weirdly lately..."

Relief swept away the fear that had begun to crawl through her, a warm smile smoothing out the furrows in her brow.

"Shippo, everyone's just nervous. We're finally going to end this, and...not many of them know how to react."

"That isn't it Kagome. There's more."

Her gaze flicked towards Kohaku, trying to meet his brown eyes, figure out what exactly had happened to make them act so strangely. He stared pointedly at the ground, and, hurt, she glanced back towards Shippo.

"Naraku...has replaced everyone, just like he did with me. Sango, Miroku, Kirara, Inuyasha... I saw them all. I'm not sure about Kouga and Sesshoumaru but... Kagome... you've gotta save them!"

Kohaku's cool voice sliced through her shock, snatching her back, guiding her to what she must do.

"Priestess Kikyou should be waiting near the road with your bow and arrows. And we'll find someplace safe, just in case."

Just in case...of what? The thought sprang unbidden into her mind, possibilities of what he meant flittering past. In case she failed? In case she died? In case the golems impersonating her friends tried to kill them all?

And...how long had her real friends been kidnapped? How couldn't she _notice_?

Tiny arms wrapped around her neck, orange hair tickling her nose. Another pair slipped around her waist, the head that buried itself into her shoulder speckling salty tears against her shirt.

"Please...bring Sango back...Bring my sister back Kagome..."

XxX


	19. Wish

Final chapter. Thank God. If you ask really nicely though, I might make some type of epilogue... Y'know, after redoing this entire thing. The only explanation I give...is that Naraku acts as much as the person as possible. Makes it more realistic.

Ahem. Also, referring to the whole redoing this thing. It needs a new title. Really. Any ideas would be awesome. I could probably come up with _something_ better than Naraku's Transformation but... yeah. Help would be appreciated. Another reason for redoing this, is I could do WAY better. I started this in like...June of '05? And we're going into '07? And can you say plot holes? I take so long to update I forget what I already wrote! Thus, parts of the story don't match up. And the 'write as you go' method probably doesn't help much.

**Yasha'z Wifey Kyome**: Yes. Yes it is.

**blackXheart**: Yeah, I've been planning it since the 'Inuyasha Screamed' chapter. I figured if Naraku can make himself from Golems...what else could he make? Or rather...who...else? But, yeah, I admit this chapter took awhile. My muses are screaming in agony from the length of this fic. . I've gotta redo the first couple of chapters so that people who read it don't think "God...it's another noob fic..." hands a glass of water to continue the muhaha's

**Igor Lollipop**: Nope!! In reality it was...Kaede!! grin I honestly didn't know that tenseiga could only revive a person once... Then again, I don't read the manga, and have missed over half the Inuyasha episodes...

**Disclaimer**: Just in case you've missed the last...checks quickly ...18 disclaimers. It ain't mine. I may have distorted the characters beyond all recognition but they still belong to Miss Rumiko Takahashi.

XxX

It wasn't that difficult. Really. It was obvious that he was expecting her, his lone defense being a pale girl with a mirror. She assumed it was some form of Kanna. Whatever, or whoever the girl might have once been, she was enough to keep Kikyou occupied.

In truth, when she and Kikyou had pinpointed Naraku's location, she had been expecting the same thing as always. A, usually run down, mansion. Rotting wood planks, a thin mist of miasma, the dull buzz of saimyousho. And perhaps the faint scent of death that lingered from bodies that were never found.

There was nothing of the sort.

There was a maze of tunnels and passageways, but her shoes clicked against stone floors, hand pressed against stone walls. Another cave, another encounter with Kikyou, and another batch of impossible odds countered. Another memory neatly tucked away within the folds of her mind.

She also hadn't expected the jewel to be hanging delicately from a necklace of what looked suspiciously like teeth, or claws. She had the sneaking suspicion that this is what the original Shikon Jewel might have looked like, before it had been burned with Kikyou, and scattered to the winds by herself.

Instinct and memory guided her hands, plucking the arrow from her back and sliding into the string smoothly. She swung around, the metal arrowhead aimed at the crimson colored eye she knew would be there.

He smiled. There was a gleam, the light of the jewel flashing against fangs. And she was the first person to speak, her grip never wavering, even as crimson turned to gold.

"So, you're trying to recreate history then?"

That cocky grin spread across his stolen face, the familiar voice almost painfully recognizable.

"I'm just tryin' to make it easier for ya."

He continued smoothly, ticking off the events on rough clawed fingers.

"Once as Kikyou, pinned to a tree for fifty years. Again, Kikyou, the very moment her corpse was revived. Tsubaki. That...interesting event with the moth. The list just goes on n' on."

She didn't bother protesting her innocence. That half those times were Kikyou, which didn't count. And the other half was when she was being controlled. Instead she let the arrow drop an inch lower, at his cheek. Far less lethal than spearing through the eye, into the brain.

"Were you serious?"

A notch lower, at the empty space just beneath the jawline. Golden eyes softened, exactly like they were supposed to, in that same hidden, caring way.

"Of course. I love you Kagome..."

It sounded wrong, terribly wrong, to hear those words she craved. It was in the right voice, from the right person, but...it didn't count. It wasn't Inuyasha. Inuyasha...wouldn't say that so freely. And, surely, neither would Naraku, if he'd really meant it.

"...I think...I love you too..."

There. Hers was perfect. Slow...quiet...somewhat hesitant. Divulging a secret of the highest caliber that she'd kept for such a long time. The fact that she didn't add a name to her confession was purposeful. He would wonder. She hardly knew herself who it was she was talking to.

She let the arrow fly, a re enactment of a time long gone, fifty and some years past. She was almost tempted to scream his name in fury. The arrow connected, through the heart that wasn't there, and he stumbled backwards in quite obvious surprise. She let the bow slip between her fingers, heard it clatter to the floor.

And the story should have ended right there, with him dying, collapsing in a pool of his own blood. Her cradling his head in her lap as he reverted to his true form, murmuring something or other. Perhaps an apology. An excuse that this was the only way.

Yet, conflicting drastically with what should have happened, she snatched the jewel from where it rested, glancing back in time to see the body shift in mid fall. Gold to red, white to black. He didn't fall to the floor in a bloody mess. He twisted, landing in a crouch, hand wrapping around the wooden shaft and features alive with fury. He had been tricked. And she had the jewel.

"You lied."

She rubbed her thumb against the smooth surface of the glittering jewel, rather in awe that it wasn't black as sin. It was close, mind you, but the tiny splotches of dark purple had begun spreading, erasing the drops of black that marred its beauty.

"So did you."

He rose with an almost cat like grace, ripping the arrow from his flesh with a ferocity that contradicted his now calm expression. He didn't deny it, liked she'd thought he might. Didn't protest his undying love for her. Instead, shocked her with words of a different kind.

"I'm supposed to you. You aren't."

As she untangled the words she wanted to say, speak, yell at him, his gaze locked onto the glittering curse in her palm.

"So...what will you wish for? Immortality? Divine strength? ...World peace?"

Her other hand wrapped protectively over the jewel, hiding it from his sight.

"I don't need to- "

"It's the only way you'll make it out of here alive."

Confidence swelled inside her, even as she began noticing the little things she'd first missed. Carefully inspecting that particularly dark corner off to the side for eyes, or movement. Listening intentively to the steady drip of water that might just be hiding footsteps. Or breathing. Or both.

"You can't kill me."

He agreed easily, something that worried her. That wasn't like him. Quickly, she grasped at the quiver on her shoulder, fingers wrapping around an arrow. A weapon.

"You're right. I can't kill you. But that doesn't mean Kagura can't. "

She froze, waiting for the blade of wind that would slice through her, ending her life in all of two seconds. There were too many shadows, too many dark spaces where the wind sorceress could hide. When nothing happened, she peered curiously over her shoulder, splitting her attention between Naraku, and trying to predict where her death would come from.

There was no hiding the shiver that consumed her when she met the dulled red eyes of the once proud young woman. She looked as though she had been tormented physically, mentally, and spiritually by everything known to man or demon alike. It wasn't as though she had scars on her skin, or that her appearance was messy. She looked nearly the same as when they had last met.

And yet, she avoided that gaze, hating the feeling that swept through her every time her gaze connected with them. It reminded her...of Kikyou. Before there was any soul in the lifeless clay doll, reacting purely to commands, and drawn towards the remnants of its life.

And it was because she avoided Kagura's gaze that she failed to notice the wind that was meant to cut her heart neatly in half, the hiss of wind warning her, letting her move, instinctively, out of the way.

Her mind snapped, yelled, screamed at her, _wrong way, wrong way!!!_ The pain that tore through her shoulder crippling her, bringing her to her knees, blood staining the pure white of her shirt.

Pain blurred her vision, black hair and red eyes mixing, fading, into white, white, white that lasted only one moment. She blinked away the tears that pricked at her eyes, letting her hand drop, bloodstained fingers curling around wood and string and, where did that come from? She decided it didn't matter how the bow had ended up right here, strung the arrow and aimed at the spot where all the colors blurred into a slash of white.

She felt a little like Inuyasha.

She barely, barely heard the glass shatter, the quick intake of breath that proved her fleeting thoughts right. She clutched at the smooth orb in her hand, staggered her way towards the exit, pressing her fingers against the cool stone on either side, murmuring the words for a barrier beneath her breath.

A deep breath, then another, calming her nerves, lessening the adrenaline that was making her nearly paranoid, and searching for the gaping feeling in her soul, the piece that was missing. It was still gone. Which meant Kikyou was still alive.

XxX

"You're bleeding."

It took her a moment to register the words, glancing to her side to see Kikyou propped up next to entrance, fingers clutching at a wound that looked identical to the one she herself had.

"...It's fake. I'm fine. And you're bleeding too y'know!"

It took the preistess a moment to answer, tired, but determined eyes blinking slowly at her.

"If your wounds are fake, then I would assume mine are as well."

With a rather worried glance over her shoulder, Kagome placed the bow carefully on the ground and peeled her fingers away from the bruise colored jewel.

"U-um... I placed a barrier in the cave, so that Naraku can't get out, and I think Kanna is in there with him, but it probably won't hold very long and...What do I do?"

With a barely visible wince of pain Kikyou shifted, letting her non bloodstained hand rest on top of the Shikon no Tama. The brilliant rays of light that slipped between their fingers was enough to make them both pull away, leaving the tiny, glittering orb fall to the grass.

"Make a wish."

For a moment Kagome thought that the elder preistess was joking. After a long pause she realized that Kikyou probably had never joked once in her life. And wasn't prone to start now.

"Wait, but you're-"

"I have been devouring souls since the moment of my resurrection. Any wish that I make would be far too selfish, and would only undo the purification."

A lump formed in her throat at the thought of actually having to somehow, some way, make a completely unselfish wish. Hesitantly, reluctantly, she picked up the jewel.

There wasn't any flashbacks. Or transportation mentally into some strange realms. Or meetings with Midoriko, or her inner self. No, it was much, much simpler than that. Less amazing, sure, but definitely simpler.

The cliff behind them cracked, and purple mist began seeping through the fractures in the wall. Time ran out, ran down. There wasn't enough time to ponder what the perfect wish was, because even if she could survive whatever Naraku threw at them, simply because she was human, Kikyou...fell into the gray area. If Inuyasha could get hurt, as half a human, then Kikyou, who was physically only clay and soul, could possibly get killed.

Clasping her free hand over the jewel, she squeezed her eyes shut, and wished for the first thing that came to mind.

XxX

Alright. I was seriously considering an Alternate Ending where Kikyou just whips out a list and says something along the lines of "Maybe this'll help". With a bunch of prewritten wishes. And Kagome scrolls through them and goes "AHA!!! That's IT! I wish for (Insert perfect wish here)" And there we go! Perfect ending! cheesy smile

Or maybe like... Eeny Meeny Miney Mo, Catch a demon by the toe, If he hollers let him go, Eeny Meeny Miney Mo. And the thing I will wish for is...

But seriously. Yeah. I ended it in the most horrible way ever. I know. But I can't actually END it. Not without undoing the plot holes that have run rampant. And the terrible first chapters. In the meantime...if you have any questions I WILL answer them now that it's sorta kinda over. Except for 'What did she wish for'. Which I'll put at the beginning of Chapter 20, Epilogue.

Oh my God...it's actually ending at an even twenty...that's actually completely coincidental. 


	20. Epilogue

Hey...The only names I've seen for Naraku/Kagome is Kagraku, and Nar/Kag. Why doesn't this pairing have a neat name? I mean, the entire Avatar fandom has awesome names... Zutara...Kataang...Tokka...ect. We need a cool name too! I propose... Narome! er... Karaku...? ... ... huh. Maybe there's a reason all we've got is Nar/Kag.

**Yasha'z Wifey Kyome**: Of course! What kind of person would I be if I left them all to die? ... heh. And...no. His entire aim from the beginning was simply to confuse her enough to swipe the counter-spell from her. Or maybe the book that gave her the spell. He _might _have had some feelings, but not enough to distract him from his original goal.

**blackXheart**: Well, you now have the ability to re-ride it! My paragraph long first chapter will soon become longer... and I'll continue from there.

**Saccharine Death**: Depressing...really? I'm glad you think I'm articulate though! I have a problem with choosing which words to use...doesn't help that I'm lacking any type of spell check, or...um...thesoraus. I know I spelled that wrong. Anyway. Onto your questions!

Yes. Thus the "Are you trying to recreate History?" line from Kagome. Whether he was trying to make it easier or harder for her, depends. I'm fairly sure he just wanted to make her do a double-take.

Kagura came from nowhere. She was only an illusion set up by Kanna, to distract Kagome. I really, _really_ wanted to include Kagura, but there was no time. So I couldn't do justice to her.

Kikyou, in the first part, was fighting Kanna. When she lost, due to the fact that Kanna's awesome like that and a bit more motivated coughfatherfigurecough, she attempted to follow Kanna into the cave, but only managed to reach the entrance.

Darn...I wanted more questions...These are fun to answer!!

**Igor Lollipop**: W-well... ... ... I have no idea how to make you feel better...

**amyrosey**: It shall be up soon... I'm just a terrible procrastinator. ...Hope I spelled that right.

**Disclaimer**: Last...Disclaimer...For Chapter...YESS!!!

XxX

_I wish...everyone would be happy..._

Her first thought, had been her wish. And her first thought after that...had been how stupid of a wish it was.

Thwack, went her head against the wood.

Why that wish had sprang to mind, out of all the things she could have wished for, she had no idea.

_I could have wished for world peace. _

The old, rotting wood, that stank of death and blood and age.

_Or Naraku's death._

Just like she stank of death and blood and age.

_Or that I knew for sure whether Inuyasha loved me or Kikyou..._

It was probably because she strived to make people happy, to cure their troubles away. That was why her wish was, what it was. It was the truest thing she wished for.

The scene had changed from burning miasma, to grassy fields. Cliff walls to freshly cut wood.

_Why here?_

She hadn't noticed the whispers as she raced towards the village, as she spotted Kaede and ran to her, terribly confused.

_"Kaede! Kaede! I was fighting Naraku, and made a wish on the jewel and now..."_

Thwack, went her head against the wood of the Bone Eaters Well.

She had stopped once she saw the strange look on the old woman's face. Not confusion, like herself. Not working out why what had happened, happened. It was...

Distrust.

_"Ye are not...Sister Kikyou..."_

The well that ate bones.

_"...What?"_

But never her bones.

_"What manner of demon be you?"_

She never died when she went through the well.

_"I-I'm not...Kaede! Stop fooling around! Naraku is..."_

And neither did Inuyasha.

_"Leave now demon, peacefully, before my sister and her husband arrive. Though ye hath tried to copy her form, ye did a mighty bad job._"

She had left. Or rather, she had plucked away the various things of hers scattered around the village, things no one seemed to be able to see except her. It wasn't that she cared about the random textbooks and unopened ramen cups. It was more that...she wanted to see if Kikyou's husband was really Inuyasha. If they had forgotten her as well.

She wasn't bitter. Or angry. She really wasn'"_What is wrong Inuyasha?"_

Peered around the corner, caught of a glimpse of white ears and, yes, rosary beads! He caught more than just a glimpse of her, and clawed hands sprang towards the hilt of his sword.

Not angry. Not bitter. It was her fault, not the Jewel's. Not Life's.

_"Some bad imitation of you. Probably a weakling demon."_

She had pulled away from his sight, startled by the instant attack, stopped only by Kikyou.

_"Ah, yes. Kaede told me. It's probably harmless, like that fox that keeps following us around. Don't shed unneccessary blood Inuyasha."_

Maybe...she should have sought out the 'fox' they had mentioned. But if Shippo, if it was Shippou, hadn't remembered her either...

_"...I told ya, ya shouldn't've healed it."_

And then she really had left, down the Bone Eaters Well and out the other side, no problems whatsoever. At least, until she had tried to go back, and failed. No shards of the Shikon Jewel. No more connection to Inuyasha through his rosary beads. No object, or memory left of her in that world.

Weeks had passed, and eventually, she had stopped trying to get through every day. The visits slowed to once a week, then every couple of weeks. And so on and so forth. It had been a month or two since she had last tried. It was just too hard to sneak past her family, and then keep on failing. There was just no proof anymore.

"Just...a dream. It's not like it actually happened. This place is just comforting... It won't really take me to the past."

She leaned back once more against the wood of the bone eaters well, tracing designs in the dirt with her fingers. A girl with a boomerang, and a boy with a scythe. A boy with dog ears, and another boy with crudely drawn beads. And a child with a giant tail.

Frowning at the drawing she wiped it away with her hand and stood, climbing up the ladder quickly. There was nowhere she really had to be, but anywhere was better than here.

"This time...I'm not coming back..."

She pulled herself over the lip of the well, and stopped, staring at a book lying in front of her. It was tattered and ragged, the cover dirty and smudged, so that the title was almost unreadable.

She traced the letters on the front and turned the cover, looking at the back in confusion. Scribbled in her own handwriting was, most definitely, her name. Her hand hovered in confusion, until a larger hand wrapped around it and pulled her from the well.

"It was difficult to find you...Kagome Higurashi."

She couldn't tell by the face, drowned in shadows. The eyes didn't glow like a monster from a horror movie. But the voice struck something like a memory, and she shivered, swallowing the name that flitted back and forth on her tongue.

"...Have you forgotten? Just like the rest of them? Did you forget...yourself?"

Peering up into the face she couldn't see, she tangled her fingers in his jacket, trying so hard _not_ to remember. And trying harder not to hope.

"Do you remember? Do you remember, who I was?"

"Enough to try and find you from nothing but a name."

The first tear landed on her hand as she pulled close, deathly afraid that he would fade away into nothing.

"Everyone else is dead. Five hundred years is a long time Kagome. We're the only ones left."

The laugh surprised even her, mixed in with a pathetic sniffle. Why was she crying? It was just Naraku!

"What? Do you want to find everyone's descendants, make a couple more incarnations, and start fighting again? Or do you just want me to finally remove that curse?"

Maybe...she was a little bitter... because she knew he was smirking, could practically feel it, but when she looked up he was simply staring at her calmly.

"The curse vanished along with you. I can kill everyone in this world easily."

She hovered on the brink of something, and wondered if maybe she should just destroy him now.

"Then what is it you want?"

Familiarity pricked at the edge of her subconscious, a feeling that screamed at her to remember. Remember what? Glittering just beyond her reach...It was so distracting...

"You have to ask?"

Her gaze flickered at movement, a shadow springing to the doorway. But unlike Naraku, this shadow stayed within the light, her features easily discernible. Brown hair and eyes, and a large round bag at her hip. She peered closely, catching a flash of silver from inside.

"Naraku...Sir..."

The brown haired girl clutches at a wriggling figure, and she thinks she sees red, but before she can catch more than a glimpse, Naraku blocks her path.

"Make your decision quickly Kagome. Will you stay here in the past? Or move forwards? Your future awaits you."

She slips her hand into his and frowns at him when he smiles.

"I still hate you. You still caused so much pain for my friends. I just...don't want it to end yet."

He continues smiling at her and leads her out, where a girl with a mirror, and a struggling teen await them. And, briefly, his hand brushes against a gem thats buried in his pocket, flickering from pink to black. He always wins.

XxX

This is the Epilogue. If you don't like it...pretend it ended last chapter. She went home and lived happily ever after. Or stayed with Inuyasha. Or...whatever. Although...I think Epilogue's are supposed to wrap up all the loose ends of a story...and this one really didn't... Well, if a question is repeated too much I'll probably answer it in my profile... Which means I get to make a FAQ!! All that aside though, thanks for reading this story through. I really appreciate all your reviews and lack of flaming. Without further rambling, I officially end this story.

End.


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